Date: Fri 22-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-development

Full Text:

Plan Details Emerge From Would-Be Developers Of Fairfield Hills

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

As a joint state-town selection committee sifts through 12 proposals for the

redevelopment of Fairfield Hills, some details are emerging about proposed new

uses for the former state mental institution.

Community Builders of New Haven is one of the firms which has submitted a

general proposal for the redevelopment of the 185-acre core campus at

Fairfield Hills.

Steve Green, director of the Connecticut office of the national development

firm, said much market data would be needed to determine the best future uses

for Fairfield Hills.

There's probably no single use that requires the approximately one million

square feet of enclosed space available, Mr Green said, adding that any

successful redevelopment of the property will require a mixed-use approach.

Mr Green termed Fairfield Hills "a unique piece of property. It's got

incredible buildings and beautiful acreage."

Community Builders has hired a national planning firm to help it determine

suitable uses for the property, he said. Potential uses include retail,

residential, commercial and light industrial, he said.

In order for Community Builders to create a detailed proposal for Fairfield

Hills redevelopment, the firm would have to be placed on the selection

committee's list of finalists for the project, he said.

The firm likes to develop complex projects involving both residential and

commercial elements, Mr Green said. The retail potential of the property is

small, he said.

Community Builders is redeveloping the former Northampton State Hospital in

Northampton, Mass, a project similar to the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills,

except that the buildings at Fairfield Hills are in much better physical

condition than those at the former mental institution in Northampton, he said.

Redeveloping Fairfield Hills would be a staged process, with the property

being put to new uses in phases, Mr Green said. Although it's clear the best

approach to redeveloping the property is putting it to multiple uses, it's

difficult to say exactly what that split of uses would be, he said.

Carl M. Dunham, Jr, a spokesman for York Hunter, Inc, a Manhattan-based

development firm interested in redeveloping Fairfield Hills, said, "I think

it's a wonderful piece [of property] for mixed use. I think the town did very

well with its adaptive reuse rezoning."

The challenge of redeveloping Fairfield Hills is how to reuse the existing

buildings, he said. The challenge will also be successfully intermixing

various new land uses at the site, he said.

The new uses to which the property eventually will be put will be determined

by market factors, he said. Mr Dunham said there are "a wide range of

possibilities" for the property.

Denise Knauer, a spokeswoman for Baker Companies of Pleasantville, N.Y., said,

"Our plans are still in the preliminary stages." Ms Knauer said the firm wants

to reserve any comment on how it would develop Fairfield Hills until, and if,

it is chosen as a semifinalist for the project.

Other Firms, Other Ideas

Among other firms which have discussed their plans, Bruce Becker, an

architect, planner and developer with Becker and Becker Associates of New

Canaan, has said, "We envision a plan that addresses a wide range of community

needs as well as provides market-rate and affordable housing."

The firm has a background in the reuse of historic buildings and would take a

preservationist approach in redeveloping the property. The firm's "mixed-use

residential community" redevelopment concept would cost about $50 million to

implement and could include 400 to 700 apartments, according to Mr Becker.

The redevelopment project would include luxury apartments, as well as

affordable housing. Twenty-five percent of the units would be designated as

affordable housing.

If chosen as the firm to redevelop the property, Becker and Becker would

create a master plan for the property taking into account the needs of the

community. The firm is involved in real estate development, architectural

design and master planning.

Creating dwellings in existing buildings at Fairfield Hills would be the

dominant use of the property. Becker's concept includes a town school, town

offices, a community center and cultural facilities such as a museum and

library. Redeveloping the property would take two to three years.

In another proposal, a group of Waterbury-area investors known as PBC wants to

create a nine-hole golf course and conference center, among other facilities.

PBC's proposal includes a banquet facility, fairground, agricultural center,

theater and arts center. Under PBC's proposal, five major buildings at

Fairfield Hills would be adapted for new uses -- Newtown Hall, Woodbury Hall,

Shelton House, Bridgeport Hall and Stratford Hall, according to PBC spokesman

Patrick Cragin of Newtown.

An expected environmental study into contamination problems at the site will

be a determining factor in whether PBC's proposal is a financially viable one.

Another firm interested in redeveloping Fairfield Hills is Toll Brothers, a

Pennsylvania-based development firm, which is a major builder of luxury homes

nationwide.

Kira McCarron, a Toll Brothers spokeswoman, has declined to provide specifics

on Tolls Bothers' redevelopment concept for Fairfield Hills, but has noted the

primary thrust would involve new residential construction, plus other uses.

For sale at Fairfield Hills as a unit are 16 major buildings, plus others,

including one million square feet of enclosed space. The buildings occupy

about 100 acres of the 185-acre parcel being marketed by the state. The

remaining 85 acres have forests and fields. That land is available for new

uses. No sale price for Fairfield Hills has been set by the state.

While the sale price of the Fairfield Hills is a consideration, greater weight

will be given to evaluating redevelopment proposals based on their economic

impact on the town and state, as well as the proposals' sensitivity to

environmental and historical issues, according to the state Office of Policy

and Management.

The Fairfield Hills Selection Committee is scheduled to name a group of

redevelopment finalists in March. By June, the panel is scheduled to pick a

firm to buy and redevelop Fairfield Hills.