Fairfield Hills Lease Announcements Appear Imminent

By John Voket

Fairfield Hills Authority Chairman Robert Geckle told fellow authority commissioners this week that several lease contracts are imminent, and at least one other lease proposal for one of the campus duplex buildings is in the works.

“As recently as this week we got a proposal for reuse of Newtown Hall, which we are actively pursuing,” Mr Geckle said, acknowledging that he cannot yet divulge the potential commercial tenants.

Without discussing any specifics, he was able to tell the commissioners that a lease contract is being negotiated for a 9,000-square-foot restaurant slated for Stratford Hall, and said a similar albeit larger contract for a town recreation center is proceeding smoothly. Mr Geckle said as a result of these developments, as well as the longstanding commitment to bring a government center and town hall to the former state hospital campus, two developers have approached the authority expressing interest in additional projects.

It has long been suggested by numerous public officials that an appropriate combination of commercial and recreational use of the Fairfield Hills complex would facilitate one aspect underwriting some or most of the other, thereby reducing the burden on local property taxpayers to underwrite public and recreational facilities and maintenance of the campus.

“I’m encouraged that we have substantial interest in these matters,” Mr Geckle said at this week’s meeting. “It’s clear that the activities to date have increased the interest on the part of these two master developers.”

A developer request for proposal was issued around the first of the year, optimally seeking a single source developer for the vast majority of the 22.5 acres reserved for commercial development. That 22 acres does not include Bridgeport Hall, the future government center, but does include Woodbury, Stratford, and Newtown Halls as well as the five former residential duplexes, which are 4,000-square-feet each.

Mr Geckle said he foresees the maximum commercial buildout to not exceed 252,000 square feet.

On another front, the authority took a first pass at discussing Mr Geckle’s suggestions for common area charges to be assessed against Fairfield Hills tenants. He envisioned the compensation for annual maintenance, upkeep, and utilities to eventually max out at about a half-million dollars.

The authority chair added that in the best case scenario, taxpayers should only have to help underwrite about half of the common fees, even though the great majority of the facility would be reserved for public/recreational uses. In its first year, Mr Geckle said the very competitive range of common charges would be offered at between $1.61 and $2 per square foot. Only the massive enclosed playing field at the proposed recreation complex would be assessed a reduced common charge rate of about 40 cents per square foot, with the balance of the facility paying the greater rate.

That sports and recreation facility is being constructed through public-private partnership that could have the town leasing space from a nonprofit operating entity that is underwriting construction and development. That building may also potentially house senior center and cultural arts facilities, although discussions on those considerations are only in their early stages.

Fairfield Hills property manager Maria DiMarco said that development common charges in the region top out at $2.50 per square foot, but Mr Geckle countered that the local complex is a hybrid, and that it is common to adjust common charges after the first year of a long-term lease agreement.

Besides the common charges, commercial tenants will be responsible for their own interior building maintenance, property and personal property taxes, water and sewer rates, other utility costs and the possibility of future sewer assessments that would come with significant capital improvements to the sewer system.

Authority Vice Chairman Andrew Willie envisioned restricting tenants to having a single-source vendor for exterior maintenance like snow plowing and shoveling, as well as a single or limited vendors for trash and waste collection to minimize service traffic in the complex. Mr Geckle added that once the occupancy of various facilities commences, he believes the current 24-hour security force will step down to a single shift, with campuswide security forces eventually being eliminated in favor of local police protection and other high-tech security monitoring.

“I’m hopeful the $100,000 we are paying currently for private security will come out of the budget altogether,” Mr Geckle said.

Ms DiMarco reported that multiple dumpsters full of trash were removed recently from Bridgeport Hall, and praised school district crews for leaving the future town hall site broom clean. That effort was critical leading up to developers visiting the site prior to bidding on two upcoming phases of renovations.

Prebid walk-throughs of Bridgeport Hall have been completed, and bids for the town hall remediation and demolition of two structural additions that are in poor condition are due August 27. The design-build phase two will occur subsequently, according to Mr Geckle.

The authority chairman said he was aiming at a September date to hold a public hearing on campus developments at Reed Intermediate School to update the public on what has occurred on the campus to date. As of Sunday, August 19, the first full scale demolition project, removing the Fairfield House structure, was completed.

Authority members who have visited the campus in recent days, including Mr Geckle, commented on the new and complementary views of the surrounding landscape since the former hospital dormitory was razed.