Yale Laboratory Comes Down At Fairfield Hills

By Kendra Bobowick

Laboring to bite off hunks of brickwork and roofing tiles, a backhoe’s jaws widened then clamped onto portions of Yale Laboratory in Fairfield Hills, ripping down the former state hospital’s morgue Friday, August 6.

Roughly $1 million in Capital Improvement Plan funds appropriated for the Parks and Recreation Department project are paying for the demolition and related work. “The [money] will do two things,” said Public Works Department head Fred Hurley, creating schematic plans for a community center, which are underway, with the remaining funds paying for the teardown of Yale Laboratory, which was the former state hospital morgue and autopsy facility, and the adjacent Litchfield House.

Litchfield stands between the newer Newtown Youth Academy and Yale. Past planning placed the future community center near the academy for access to its indoor recreation and exercise features.

To the right of Yale Laboratory is Canaan House, a former patient dormitory now facing an uncertain future. “Plans for Canaan are up in the air,” Mr Hurley said. Will it be in line for demolition or development? “We don’t know,” he said.

Parks and Recreation Director Amy Mangold outlines plans for the community center. While currently waiting for a final schematic design for the future building, her department has made another CIP request in year five of the town’s current Capital Improvement Plan, which has not yet been approved. She said that in the year 2015/2015 is a request for $700,000 for the community center’s final design phase, with a $15 million request the following year for construction costs. The sums may or may not be approved as her department has asked.

With demolition underway, various dumpsters are in place to separate any hazardous materials, which will be delivered to approved waste disposal facilities, Mr Hurley said.