State Puts A Price On Fairfield Hills: $5.5 Million

By Steve Bigham

The state has officially offered the 185-acre Fairfield Hills campus to the town “as is” for $5.5 million. First Selectman Herb Rosenthal received the long-awaited asking price from Department of Public Works Commissioner TR Anson last Friday.

The arrival of the state’s offer ends eight months of negotiations between state and town officials.

Mr Rosenthal and his legal advisors now have just over a month to negotiate with the state to either lower the asking price or, at the very least, improve the terms and conditions of the proposal for Newtown.

As part of the offer, the town is responsible for all environmental cleanup of the site and would be required to hold the state harmless for any liabilities. In short, the state’s letter indicates that it is looking to wash its hands clean of the former state mental health hospital, which closed its doors in 1995. Mr Rosenthal said that will be the basis of his negotiations in the weeks to come. Many town officials this week indicated they expected the asking price to be somewhat lower.

“Certainly, I will be working to get the best agreement we can and a lower price and the most favorable conditions we can get from the state,” Mr Rosenthal said. “It’s the informal price that’s been talked about for a while. I thought there might be something different, but I guess this is just the beginning of our final phase of negotiations.”

How firm is the state’s offer? We’ll find out, Mr Rosenthal said.

Of course, the town understands that the $5.5 million cost is just the tip of the iceberg. The real cost to take over Fairfield Hills remains in question. Estimated costs to clean up ground contamination could be less than a million dollars. However, the largest costs will be associated with removing the threat of asbestos in the buildings, some of which may need to be demolished.

“Our real cost will depend on what we do ourselves and what assistance we get from either the state or a private developer,” Mr Rosenthal said.

Last week, Mr Rosenthal released a draft of a request for proposals (RFP) designed to attract prospective developers to bid on the project.

The state has set a negotiation deadline for December 31, but Mr Rosenthal said he might try to extend that date since the next six weeks are considered part of the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. Once an agreement between Mr Rosenthal and the state is negotiated, the next phase of the town’s land purchase will begin. In order to purchase the property, the town will need approvals from the Legislative Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, and, ultimately, the taxpayers.

Newtown exercised its right of first refusal on the property last January. That move suspended all state efforts to bring in an outside developer.