Date: Fri 19-Jun-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

state-Fairfield-Hills-Queen

Full Text:

Town Says It's "Interested" In Queen Street Properties

BY STEVE BIGHAM

The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to inform Hartford that it may be

"interested" in purchasing the state-owned homes on the eastern side of Queen

Street.

That was the easy part. Expressing interest simply gives the town

right-of-first-refusal on the homes and property located on the former

Fairfield Hills property. Now the town has 60 days to determine if the homes

are worth buying.

There are seven homes, each on one-acre lots, and eight vacant lots that are

available. The picturesque land behind the homes is actually open space owned

by the state's Department of Agriculture.

The homes were once used to house staff members from Fairfield Hills, which

closed its doors three years ago.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said he has contacted both the Newtown Housing

Partnership and Habitat for Humanity to see if those groups would be

interested in taking over the buildings.

Several residents who live in the Queen Street area have contacted the first

selectman's office requesting the property be purchased by the town. Andrea

Spencer of 8 Grand Place spoke at Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting.

"My feeling is I think that Newtown represents one of those nice rural-feeling

towns in Connecticut. But it is growing," she said. "I think certain pockets

of land need to be reserved for passive space, so we don't have to say, `I

remember when that land was like this.'"

Mrs Spencer said the land has been used for passive recreation for years.

"The view is spectacular. You can't put a value on something like this," Mrs

Spencer said.

The town has until late August to decide if it wants to purchase the land.