Date: Fri 12-Mar-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Fairfield-Hills-Selection

Full Text:

Committee Names Four Finalists For Fairfield Hills Development

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

The Fairfield Hills Selection Committee has named four developers as finalists

in the competition to acquire and redevelop the 185-acre core campus of

Fairfield Hills, the former state psychiatric institution in the geographical

center of town.

The four developers were selected from among 12 developers who submitted

redevelopment proposals for the property in January. The four developers now

have three months to prepare formal proposals and master plans for a Fairfield

Hills redevelopment project, Richard Nuclo, director of assets management for

the state Office of Policy and Management (OPM), said Tuesday.

The four developers are:

Becker and Becker Associates, Inc, of New Canaan.

The Community Builders, Inc, of New Haven.

SBC Associates, LLC, of Greenwich.

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, of Elmsford, NY.

Each of the four developers chosen as finalists have proposed "mixed use"

scenarios for the redevelopment of Fairfield Hills, involving multiple new

uses for the property, which contains approximately one million square feet of

enclosed space in 16 major buildings. State officials haven't set a price for

the property, saying the price will depend upon the uses to which the property

is put.

Becker and Becker Associates, Inc,

Becker and Becker Associates, Inc, of New Canaan proposes a mixed-use

residential development. It would rehabilitate all buildings to preserve their

historic character, renovating the larger buildings to provide affordable

housing and market-rate housing, creating an estimated 400 to 700 dwelling

units.

Bridgeport Hall would be renovated for use as a community/recreation center.

The firm states it does not expect there would be significant demolition or

new construction at Fairfield Hills.

The firm proposes senior citizen housing, congregate housing, elderly housing,

educational facilities, greenhouses, a garden shop, child and adult daycare

facilities, town offices, art/culture spaces, artists' housing, recreational

uses, affordable housing, luxury apartments and a fitness center/clubhouse.

Becker and Becker is a development, architectural and planning firm that has

worked on the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of projects in Fairfield

County and New York City. Avalon Bay Communities, a major developer of

multi-family housing, is a joint venture partner with Becker and Becker.

The Community Builders, Inc

The Community Builders, Inc, of New Haven proposes a combination of

rehabilitating the oldest historic buildings and some new construction for a

mixed-income, mixed-use residential complex, including commercial and retail

elements.

The central campus, including Canaan House, Greenwich House, Kent House,

Shelton House and Bridgeport Hall, would be preserved for commercial use such

as software development, back office space, retail space and technology

incubator space.

Cochran House would become an assisted-living facility. Litchfield House,

Fairfield House and Bridgewater House would become one-bedroom and two-bedroom

apartments for senior citizens. The firm would rehabilitate existing duplex

houses and build new duplexes.

"Live/work" residences would be created, including affordable housing for

young adults, the middle-aged and the elderly.

Recreational open space would be provided. Town facilities would be retained

in Canaan House.

The Community Builders, Inc, is a full service real estate company with

national experience in development and management of mixed-income housing and

mixed-use commercial space. It is in the process of redeveloping a former

state mental hospital in Northhampton, Mass.

SBC Associates, LLC

SBC Associates, LLC, of Greenwich (also known as Spectrum/Skansa) proposes a

mix of senior citizen housing, retiree housing, stores, offices, a

hotel/conference center, recreation facilities, restaurants, and daycare

facilities. The firm says it would provide space for ballfields and other

recreational community uses.

"The goal of the new Fairfield Hills community is to create a mixed use plan

that provides the area and its residents with a full spectrum of resources

while limiting the impact on local services, schools and traffic," it states.

The firm also states it would work to minimize the developmental impact on

water resources and traffic and also would preserve the site's historic

character. Benefits of its project would include additional local tax revenue,

jobs, construction employment and end-use employment, according to SBC.

SBC Associates, LLC, is a joint venture partnership among Spectrum/Skanska,

USA, Benenson Capital Company and Care Matrix. Skanska USA is a real estate

construction and development firm involved in many master plan projects

throughout the country. Benenson is a firm involved in acquisition and

development of real estate. Care Matrix is a publicly traded firm specializing

in senior living and hospitality services.

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, of Elmsford, N.Y., proposes "rehabilitation of

some of the more prominent, historically significant structures at Fairfield

Hills, to be fully rehabilitated and to be used for both senior citizen

assisted and independent-living facilities."

A small building would be rehabilitated to serve as a museum on the history of

Fairfield Hills. Another rehabilitated building could serve commercial,

laboratory, nursing, medical and professional uses. The firm also proposes

building a "championship 18-hole public/private golf course."

Initial construction would include new luxury attached apartments clustered

around the golf course, with 25 percent of the units designated as affordable

housing. The firm terms its proposal "The Renaissance at Fairfield Hills."

The firm states it is unclear which existing buildings would be preserved and

restored, noting that that decision depends on the buildings' quality, the

presence of contaminants and the overall layout of the development.

Wilder Balter Partners, LLC, is a full service real estate and property

development firm that works in New York and Connecticut. Joint venture

partners with Wilder Balter are Bergstol Enterprises, a designer and developer

of golf courses, and Genesis Health Ventures, a developer of senior citizen

housing.

Master Plan

The state is committed to working with the town in identifying a Fairfield

Hills developer who is capable of providing a master plan for the property and

who is sensitive to local land use and environmental issues, Mr Nuclo said in

a statement.

"Based on the submissions of the four development teams `shortlisted' for the

second phase of the review, we are encouraged that each team demonstrates the

potential to meet this objective," he said.

"I believe the four `shortlisted' developer candidates represent quality teams

with appropriate real estate background and experience critical for developing

Fairfield Hills in a manner consistent with the recent multi-use zoning passed

for the site," First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal said in the statement.

According to state Rep Julia Wasserman "I believe we have identified the top

developer candidates from a group of twelve who demonstrate exceptional real

estate capacity and the type of experience necessary for proper and desirable

reuse of Fairfield Hills.

Mr Rosenthal said Monday "The four (firms) we selected were strong financially

and have sufficient track records of doing large projects." Each of the four

initial proposals for redeveloping Fairfield Hills have good aspects, he said.

Requests for detailed redevelopment proposals including a master plan for the

property will be sent to the four firms soon, he said. The selection committee

will be meeting with the four firms to discuss development concepts, he said.

Selection committee members agreed to extend the deadline for choosing a

developer to July in order to provide the firms with sufficient time to

prepare master plans, he said.

Final proposals for redeveloping Fairfield Hills are due by June 14.

"It is very encouraging to see the level of development interest in this

property," Mr Nuclo said.

Selection committee members will evaluate the merits of the final proposals in

choosing a plan that is financially practical and also sensitive to the

interests and needs of the local community, Mr Nuclo said.

Of the eight redevelopment proposals, which the selection decided not to

pursue, Mr Rosenthal said some of the proposals "sounded very good," but it

was unclear how their concepts would be achieved.