Date: Fri 24-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-Selection

Full Text:

Fairfield Hills Selection Panel Begins Work Next Week

BY STEVE BIGHAM

A golf course, a hotel, some sort of mixed-use retail center? The options for

the future use of Fairfield Hills are seemingly endless, and it will be the

job of an eight-member task force to determine which use is best for the town,

state and region.

The Selection Committee begins its search for "the most marketable" use next

week when it meets in Hartford to lay the groundwork. The board is made up of

four state officials and four Newtown representatives. The four from Newtown

are First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, State Rep Julia Wasserman, Planning &

Zoning Commission member Michael Osborne and local businessman Charles Wrinn.

"This is one of the biggest issues to hit Newtown in many years and we want to

make sure we do it right," Mr Rosenthal said Tuesday.

The state only recently began marketing the property, made up mostly of

buildings in and around the core center of the former mental institution.

However, dozens of developers and real estate agents have already responded.

"The response has been tremendous. I've been getting three to four calls per

day," noted Richard Nuclo of the state's Office of Policy and Management

(OPM), which is initiating a national marketing campaign of the land.

Mr Nuclo said most callers want to know the price.

"I say, `What do you have in your wallet?'" he explained, indicating that no

figure has been determined to date. The price is expected to be somewhere

under $10 million.

Mrs Wasserman said the Selection Committee will be doing much of the same work

that was done by her Task Force back in the early 1990s, which looked at

potential new uses for Fairfield Hills.

"Only this time we're talking economics, too," she said.

According to Arthur Andersen consultants, hired by the state, the complexity

of the Fairfield Hills site requires a flexible marketing approach with the

cooperation of both the town and the state. This will help both sides realize

a "mutually beneficial and timely" redevelopment of the property, the report

said.

Arthur Andersen also suggested the land not be sold piecemeal. Instead, the

consultants suggested a single sale under the terms of a master plan.

Mr Nuclo said it was vital that the town have an equal voice during the

process, something Mr Rosenthal has been seeking since taking office nearly

eight months ago.

"Even though it is state property, it is right in the middle of Newtown," Mr

Nuclo explained. "We've had a good relationship with the town and it is my

hope we will arrive at something we are all comfortable with. Whoever comes in

will have to deal with the town anyway."

The process is expected to take six to nine months.

The final use of the property won't be just about money, Mr Nuclo said. There

is a much larger picture to look at, including what impact the use will have

on the region.

In addition to being a member of the P&Z, Mr Osborne is the owner of several

large shopping centers, including the Dock shopping center in Stratford. He is

also president of the highly influential Pootatuck Fish & Game Club, located

just south of the Fairfield Hills campus off Mile Hill Road.

"I figured we had better have him as a player on the inside rather than on the

outside," Mr Rosenthal said.

Mr Wrinn, a former executive with CL&P, is involved in the Danbury Industrial

Corp and the Housatonic Industrial Development Corp. He was also instrumental

in the development of Commerce Park in Danbury.

"He deals with developers all over Connecticut," Mr Rosenthal said.

Mrs Wasserman has been involved in the transition of Fairfield Hills since she

took office in the early 1990s. Before the hospital even closed its doors, the

state representative got involved to make sure Newtown played an instrumental

part in the outcome.

The state team will include two members of OPM (Mr Nuclo will chair the

committee) and two representatives from the state's Department of Public Works

(DPW).

Gov John Rowland has reportedly been watching the fate of Fairfield Hills

closely and is anxious to see it move along, according to Mr Nuclo.

Town Purchase?

Newtown could also purchase the Fairfield Hills property and has been given

right-of-first-refusal.

Mr Rosenthal has set up an advisory committee charged with determining whether

it would be a good investment for the town. The group will have two roles.

First, to provide support to the Newtown contingent on the Selection

Committee, second, to gather the pros and cons of becoming the owner of a

highly marketable 185-acre property in the geographic center of town.

So far, the team consists of Michael Snyder, Ian Engleman, Joe Borst, Karen

Blawie, Win Ballard and Moira Rodgers.

At this time, Mr Rosenthal is reluctant to get the town into the real estate

business at Fairfield Hills, but he remains open minded. He understands the

magnitude of whatever decision the town makes, and he continues to emphasize

the importance of public participation in the process.

"This could be a major tax generator for the town," he said.

Mr Rosenthal has received several phone calls from residents in favor of the

town purchasing the land. However, some do not realize that the 185 acres does

not include the several hundred acres of open space already handed over to the

state's Department of Agriculture.

"It's just the buildings. There's not a lot of open space," he said. "The

callers don't feel quite as strongly after they hear that."

Mr Rosenthal suggests the town, if it does decide to make an offer, wait until

other developers submit their bids first.