Fairfield Hills Plan—

Council To Hear From

Another Development Firm

By Steve Bigham

A real estate development firm will speak to the Legislative Council next Wednesday about its proposal for the re-development of Fairfield Hills. The meeting will take place at 8 pm at the Cyrenius H. Booth Library.

The firm, Arthur Collins Enterprises of Greenwich, is proposing the creation of a high-tech business park that would bring in municipal revenue should Newtown decide to buy the campus from the state.

Arthur Collins follows in the footsteps of the development firm of Becker and Becker, which has also proposed a plan for Fairfield Hills to town officials.

In June, Arthur Collins met with the now-defunct Fairfield Hills advisory committee. In that report, the firm pointed out that Newtown lies in an area perfectly situated to attract the rapidly expanding telecommunications and Internet industries. Arthur Collins is eyeing an 85-acre section of the Fairfield Hills campus, which it says could easily be transformed into a high-tech park. It has the right infrastructure, sits along Interstate 84, and provides the right environment, surroundings that today’s “dot.com” companies are looking for.

The Arthur Collins proposal claims the town could receive as much as $4-5 million in revenue each year with little impact on town services or schools. The plan calls for Arthur Collins to purchase the eight or nine large buildings in the inner core of the campus from the town. However, the town would retain ownership of the land beneath them and would receive “land rent” generated from the high-tech tenants who move in. Newtown would also receive real estate and property taxes, as well as a percentage of the revenues raised by Arthur Collins. In addition, the State of Connecticut is assisting towns in their efforts to create these “technology zones” by offering tax breaks, grants, etc.

The Arthur Collins proposal also calls for the town to retain a large portion (100 acres) of Fairfield Hills land for ball fields, parks, municipal space, schools, etc. In addition, the cost to restore, abate, and develop the buildings would be borne by Arthur Collins. The only cost to the town would be the purchase of the land and buildings from the state. That cost is not expected to be set sometime this month, according to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

There is no mention of any residential or large corporate development in the Arthur Collins proposal. According to Mr Collins, the plan simply entails marketing the site to the potential “end users” – the hundreds of expanding high-tech companies currently out there. Many of them are currently located in lower Fairfield County – an area that is both notoriously expensive and running out of office space.

Newtown resident Steve Matsis, a Stamford real estate broker, who has followed the Fairfield Hills issue closely, first informed Arthur Collins about the Newtown site. He heard the concerns from residents over the idea of a “corporate park” and felt he and Arthur Collins could provide the ideal solution.

“We believe we have a viable, doable concept here,” Mr Matsis said.

The plan calls for the re-development of Canaan, Kent, Shelton, and Greenwich houses and Bridgeport Hall. These five buildings represent 750,000 square feet of space, according to Arthur Collins. He said his firm would need time to bring in the tenants but believes strongly that it can happen.

“The key to all this is the end users. That’s going to take time and money,” Mr Collins said.

The Arthur Collins proposal appears to be consistent with the advisory committee’s report. However, its plan calls for an 85-acre park. The advisory committee’s report recommended only 38 acres be used for commercial development.

“Thirty eight acres is going to be tight,” Mr Collins admitted.

The advisory committee’s proposal recommended a mixed use for the 185-acre campus with much of the land being used for municipal use and the center core being reserved for revenue generation.

The Arthur Collins presentation in June was originally scheduled to be heard by the council. However, council chairman Pierre Rochman turned down First Selectman Herb Rosenthal’s suggestion that it be placed on the agenda, saying now was not the appropriate time to hold such a meeting. Mr Rochman noted that when the time is right, the council would like to hear from several potential developers, not just Arthur Collins.

Arthur Collins is the first developer to suggest it could bring in more than $1 million annually to the town.