Date: Fri 22-May-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-Nuclo

Full Text:

State Seeks Public Comment On Fairfield Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Newtown residents will be asked to comment on the preliminary findings

stemming from a state study of possible future uses for the Fairfield Hills

campus at an informational meeting Thursday, May 28, at 7:30 pm, in the

Newtown Middle School auditorium, 11 Queen Street.

Richard Nuclo, director of assets management for the state Office of Policy

and Management (OPM), says the firm, hired by the state to study possible uses

for the land and buildings, has prepared its preliminary findings. The purpose

of the meeting is to solicit public comments on the findings.

The public won't have the opportunity to review the redevelopmental outline

before the meeting. The study has been developed by Arthur Andersen

Consulting.

The continuing Andersen study is the latest chapter the long-running planning

process on the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills stretching back to the early

1990s.

In 1994, the Fairfield Hills Task Force, an ad hoc group charged with charting

possible future uses for the sprawling campus, reported back to the state

government on its findings. In brief, the task force recommended that open

space at Fairfield Hills be preserved, recreational uses be expanded, some

existing buildings be reused for general administrative office space, economic

development be encouraged in existing buildings, a regional educational

presence on campus be encouraged, and that affordable housing and housing for

the elderly be provided, among other uses.

In 1990, Lozano, White and Associates, Inc, a design group, prepared a master

plan for future uses of Fairfield Hills.

Preliminary findings in the Andersen study aren't expected to contain any big

surprises, according to Mr Nuclo.

The findings are compatible with the Fairfield Hills Task Force

recommendations, which layed out a plan to keep much of the Fairfield Hills

property as open space.

The preliminary findings won't unveil a single grand plan for the campus, but

rather will present a range of seven options, including land uses which have

been discussed in the past.

A major piece of the Fairfield Hills land-use puzzle fell into place recently

with the town's acceptance of the deed and record map for a 22.6-acre parcel

and two buildings at Fairfield Hills.

The property contains Watertown Hall, which served as a 32,348-square-foot

Fairfield Hills workers' dormitory, and a 7,316-square-foot multi-bay garage.

The land lies on either side of Old Farm Road, to the northwest of Mile Hill

Road's intersection with Mile Hill Road South. The property also contains

athletic fields used for youth sports.

The transfer of the land and buildings by the state to the town represents a

portion of the 1991 settlement of the lawsuit that the town filed against the

state over the state's construction of Garner Correctional Institution, the

state's high-security prison which houses more than 700 men on Nunnawauk Road.

The sprawling Fairfield Hills property, which now covers about 600 acres,

contains approximately 1.65 million square feet of enclosed space. It formerly

served as a state mental hospital.

The town and the state have been discussing the terms of a lease agreement

which would have the state provide a long-term, low-interest lease to the town

for 37.5 acres at Fairfield Hills for future industrial development. That

property is adjacent to the joint town-state sewage treatment plant and the

existing industrial park at Commerce Road.

In preparation for a possible state sale of 150 or more acres at Fairfield

Hills, the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) has rezoned property there

from residential to redevelopment, industrial, land conservation, and

agricultural.