The Board of Selectmen reached a key milestone following a special meeting May 23 by authorizing a schematic design concept for the new community and senior center facility, and directing the design team to move forward with the project based on those proposed designs.

The next step toward completion of the project happens Tuesday, May 30, when the Public Building & Site Commission (PBSC) meets with design team members from Quisenberry & Arcari Architects, and Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction, Inc to begin finalizing the choice of materials and to hone details of the design. After completing that step, officials will be positioned to put the project out to bid according to PBSC Chairman Robert Mitchell.

The May 23 meeting was led by architect Rusty Malik, and also included input from Joe Giacobbe and John Deren of Caldwell & Walsh. That selectmen's meeting followed a gathering of volunteers from the Community Center and Senior Center Advisory Committees, Mr Malik, and First Selectman Pat Llodra, which was held the previous day.

The earlier meeting provided an opportunity for committee members to provide some final points of input regarding site concerns, the proposed floor plan, interior specifics, materials, and design features. During both meetings, design team members and officials were careful to remind attendees that while a number of conceptual aspects of the project were moving forward, there would still be a lot of opportunity for discussion regarding particulars, especially related to the aquatic component.

The design team is poised to bring in a pool expert to consult on specifics in the coming weeks. The schematic floor plan presented this week illustrates a six-lane lap pool and a smaller adjacent, zero-entry activity pool, but there were still a number of questions, including from Selectman Herb Rosenthal, about allowing for adequate spectator seating and possibly expanding the number of lanes in the lap pool.

At several points during the meeting, Mr Rosenthal referred to the floor plan with its numerous activity and meeting spaces, saying there were already plenty of meeting rooms elsewhere in town, and suggesting the possibility of down-scaling those "dry spaces" in exchange for making the lap pool eight lanes or larger. The selectman suggested that by increasing the number of lanes to eight, it could increase the likelihood that the pool could be better monetized for things like competition swim meets.

Mr Deren responded, cautioning officials that the project was already bumping up to the maximum parameters of the budget, but at the same time did not rule out trading off on other aspects of the facility to increase the aquatic component.

Opening up the presentation, Mr Malik verified that the project's nonaquatic space for the community center is calculated to be approximately 17,535 square feet; the senior center would be about 9,450 square feet; the pool and aquatic support space would be 16,875 square feet; leaving the mechanical and related shared space at about 1,000 square feet. The finished building is currently projected to be approximately 44,860 square feet.

Mr Malik said that as a result of combining the community and senior centers into the same facility, the shared space produces some economies between the two. With officials and the design team settling on a site that is roughly over most of the footprint of the demolished Canaan House, Mr Malik said that all designs have been reoriented to that site.

Key Features

The architect detailed a few key elements related to the site, including Fairfield Hill walking trail connections that would begin or terminate at the center; two external terrace or patio gathering spaces; as well as a proposed pavilion and band shell. He added that the final two features would be budget dependent, and if there was not enough funding to complete those features, there may be other ways to get funding in the future.

Mr Malik said as a result of settling on site C, the community center's main entrance will be directly across from and symmetrical to the Municipal Center entrance. Parking in front would be accessed from an existing driveway, and a second entrance to be developed closer to the neighboring NYA facility.

There would initially be 80 parking spaces for the community center, another dedicated 30 spaces for the senior center, plus the possibly of creating 42 alternate spaces if deemed appropriate after the site's traffic analysis is completed.

There will be a small patio on the senior center side of the building, along with a much larger patio area that would be directly accessible from the biggest multipurpose rooms and the pool complex. Mr Malik said that the relocation to site C also creates a huge greenway between the new facility and the NYA, which would serve for large-scale events.

Focusing on the approved floor plan, Mr Malik said a cafe near the community center's main entrance will be served by a commercial kitchen that also backs against the large multipurpose areas. The community center's multipurpose area is intended to be separated by two movable walls to allow for several different configurations. At full scale, the largest community space is almost 5,000 square feet, and with the folding partitions, that space can be segmented to separate or combined areas of 2,000, 1,500, and 1,200 square feet.

The design team also followed advisory volunteers' requests and expanded the center's interior hallways to just under 16 feet wide to create space for activities in what Mr Malik described as a "main street" environment. Advisory committee member Kinga Walsh said that she and others liked the wide hallways that were part of the Ridgefield Community Center.

But when she indicated that those hallways were about 18 feet wide, Mr Deren once again indicated that by expanding to that width, it could drive construction costs over budget. Officials decided to have design team members create an alternate schematic with 18-foot-wide hallways so they could determine the difference in cost before finalizing that aspect of the project.

Senior Space

Moving to the senior center space, Mr Malik showed a floor plan and computer-generated interior renderings that illustrated how seniors would enter into their own separate lobby, which includes a lounge with a snack bar, and a common area with a two-sided fireplace. He said the goal was to make the senior center's largest multipurpose space as versatile as possible.

He then pointed to planned arts and crafts rooms, a small warming kitchen, and a larger multipurpose room that would share the back of the two-sided fireplace.

During both meetings, the most intensive discussion resulted from images illustrating proposed exterior designs, which appeared to have many more modern features than most of the remaining buildings on the Fairfield Hills campus.

Mr Malik said that while reclaimed window sills, keystones, and pilasters, rescued from other demolished buildings at Fairfield Hills could be incorporated into the exterior design, gable roofs that are a predominant feature on existing buildings on campus do not allow for as much natural light except with skylights, which he said are problematic because they tend to leak.

"Such a large building can employ a more playful design, with a lot more color and light, while still using materials consistent with other buildings on campus," he said, adding that the shed-style roofing features suggested in initial designs allow for a tremendous amount of natural light to filter in.

He said the design team is also aiming to utilize materials that are easy to maintain, durable, and energy efficient.

"As we explore different design ideas, we can find a blend between more traditional and familiar," he said. Referring to the "good feedback" the design team had been receiving, he said, "We're happy to work up other design ideas if gable roofs are preferred."

Another subject generated feedback from advisory committee member Nicole Hockley, who is a Sandy Hook parent serving on the panel along with David Wheeler, who was not present. She took issue with what is being called "legacy space," an office in which visitors could go to learn about the many foundations and activities that have been established to honor those lost on 12/14.

While the design team initially envisioned that space to be part of the central lobby, possibly in a transparent glass space, Ms Hockley suggested that the legacy area be located in a more adjacent, and lower profile area of the center.