State Offers Industrial Land To Town

By Steve Bigham

The state this week offered to sell 38 acres of land off Commerce Road to the town for a price of just a dollar. The town is expected to accept the offer and turn the land into an industrial park.

Previously, the state had offered to provide the town with a low-cost, long-term lease of the property. This week’s proposal is considered much sweeter, according to State Rep Julia Wasserman, who fostered the plan.

The former Fairfield Hills property is adjacent to the town’s sewage treatment plant and the Newtown Business Park, a privately owned industrial park on Commerce Road.

  In a letter to Mrs Wasserman Tuesday, Richard Nuclo, director of the state’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM), recognized that it would be easier and more timely to spur development on the parcel if the state did not own it.

“We agree with your suggestion that it would be in the best interest of the state and the town if the state divested itself of the parcel,” said Mr Nuclo, who said he planned to officially offer the land to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal shortly.

Mr Rosenthal welcomed the state’s decision this week, saying the price of just one dollar is a surprise. He credited Mrs Wasserman for her efforts in Hartford.

“Hopefully this will add to the town’s economic development base. This was what we were hoping to accomplish through the lease,” he said.

Clearly, Mr Rosenthal said, the town still plans to use the land for economic development. “Before we had no flexibility. Now we have the option of selling parcels or leasing parcels,” he explained.

The land is zoned two-acre, industrial.

A main aspect of the project will be deciding how the land would be developed for industrial uses. There are various ways industrial development can be accomplished, Mr Rosenthal said. The first selectman envisions new industrial development containing “low-impact” buildings similar to what exists in Newtown Business Park.

Mrs Wasserman has stated that she sees the venture becoming a big success in Newtown. It stands to strengthen and diversify the town’s property tax base by increasing the number of local commercial and industrial properties.

The 38 acres are not contiguous to the main campus of Fairfield Hills, which the town is expected to buy within the next year. The 38 acres lie in the extreme north end of the campus and, in order to be developed, must be accessed from land currently owned by the town.