Got A Question About Fairfield Hills?

Ask us why Bridgeport Hall will soon welcome municipal and education department personnel. Let us explain the reasons behind shared parking on the Fairfield Hills campus. Who decided that a 90-foot baseball field should sit at the site of Fairfield House that was torn down during the summer?

Men and women dressed for business or eager to meet with friends at a new pub after a baseball game will be among the residents rejuvenating the long-vacant state hospital buildings closed down in the late 1990s. Recent years have offered drivers a glance beyond brick façade to glimpse joggers, dogs alongside their owners crossing a field. On weekends and evenings a row of lawn chairs faces a playing field where parents cover their laps with blankets and watch a game.

The scene has changed little since 2001 when voters appropriated funds to purchase and renovate what was once a state-run mental health facility and return the campus to public use.

The summer of 2007 brought changes.

Work on the campus has reshaped the landscape and altered the tree line. Missing from the setting is Fairfield House, demolished and replaced with a much-needed 90-foot baseball field. Baselines and outfield fencing are emerging from the construction work to establish the field. After years-long planning, monthly meetings, discussions with advisors, architects, project managers, site cleanup, and more, the Fairfield Hills Authority has at last begun to see results also becoming evident to the public.

Several developers have stepped forward in past weeks to entertain lease agreements for several properties that they intent to turn into retail, office, and restaurant space. Also ongoing is preparation work to renovate Bridgeport House into a new municipal and Board of Education office building.

But why and how is this work happening? 

Contact us with questions. The Newtown Bee staff is interested in providing a clear understanding behind changes now taking place at Fairfield Hills and what future visions include.

Readers can e-mail Kendra@thebee.com or call 426-3141. Residents are also welcome to fill out request forms asking that a Fairfield Hills Authority member give a presentation to groups of any size. Visit the town website at www.newtown-ct.gov for more Fairfield Hills information.