Federal Preservation Grant Might Help Newtown Pay For Fairfield Hills

By Steve Bigham

Congressman Jim Maloney this week announced new legislation that could enable Newtown to use federal funds to help it buy Fairfield Hills from the state. Under a new program known as the Historic Preservation Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA), Newtown could be eligible for historic preservation grants.

The bill, passed by Congress this past year, creates the largest funding for open space and open space related items in the history of the country. The $12 billion program is designed to help pay for land conservation, preservation, and infrastructure improvement. 

“It’s a huge initiative and part of that is funding for historic preservation, and that seems to me to be very applicable for Newtown and its work with Fairfield Hills,” said Mr Maloney, who co-sponsored the bill.

The need for open space preservation has been sitting atop Mr Maloney’s agenda, particularly when it comes to Northern Fairfield County, which he says is currently on the front of the open space war.

“If you go down to southern Fairfield County the war has already been lost. The real development pressure is right here. The historic preservation piece of the bill happens to be very relevant to Fairfield Hills,” he said.

According to Mr Maloney, the bulk of the open space funding will go to the states, which will be in charge of distributing it. However, there is an opportunity for direct assistance through the section of CARA that deals with historic preservation programs. Fairfield Hills is already designated at the state level as a property of historic value and the town may be able to get funding directly from the federal government for the rehabilitation of the historic buildings.

Much depends on the final negotiations between the town and the state and whatever plan the town puts together.

“When those negotiations are complete, this is a resource that will be available to help the town execute whatever plan it determines is the right approach for Fairfield Hills,” Mr Maloney said.

Last week, the town sent out letters inviting development firms to submit proposals for the re-use and redevelopment of the 185-acre campus. The town request for proposals (RFP) does call for the preservation of as many buildings as possible. While some buildings will likely be demolished, most will be left standing for new uses.

The state has offered to sell the site “as is” for $5.5 million, but Newtown would be responsible for any environmental cleanup and would indemnify the state for all environmental liabilities.

The CARA grant is only available to government entities and non-profit groups. Development firms are, however, eligible for historic tax credits.

“The Fairfield Hills project is unique in its scope and in its central importance to the community,” Mr Maloney said. “Fairfield Hills is in the heart of Newtown, so it’s the kind of project that I think will be exciting and therefore people at the federal level in charge of deploying the funds (US Department of the Interior) will probably look at a project like this very favorably.”

In 1989, the state put the Fairfield Hills campus on the State Register of Historic Buildings.