To the Editor:

Yesterday, I walked through our lovely trails at Fairfield Hills, across the river and to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Sanctuary. We have been blessed as a community to have access to such beautiful lands. As I took in the possibility of a large 171-unit senior housing complex outlined by survey stakes, I was saddened. We are so fortunate to have the open space that we do in our 62 square miles that make up Newtown and lucky to have had the opportunity to purchase some of the Fairfield Hills property from the State.

One problem with the Fairfield Hills property we own is the many huge, abandoned buildings that were left behind by the State.

As I look at the drawings from Teton Capital for the housing they are proposing, I see the already existing Cochran House in that depiction. The town should seriously consider offering that site for the senior housing development. The proximity to the Senior Center and Community Center, the Town Offices and the NYA is ideal along with the existing paved walking trails.

If Teton Capital agrees, they should receive a major tax break if they use this site since renovation, demolition and hazardous waste disposal would be very costly. The footprint of the site should not change, unless the building were to be made smaller. I believe that this proposal would be a win-win for the town and for the developers.

The town would eventually have to pay for demolition and waste disposal at the Cochran House site if we did not make a deal with Teton. A part of the agreement should be that they also provide underground parking for these units since our ball fields need the lots that already exist.

To sell the beautiful open space for development off of Commerce Road and across from CVH Sanctuary would be a tragedy. Once the open space is gone, we will never get it back!

(I sent this to our First Selectman and Director of Land Use)

Karen Banks

Newtown

Editor’s Note: The Newtown Bee has previously reported on an existing mixed-use development proposal at Fairfield Hills that included consideration of Cochran House.