Questions surround General Electric’s departure
In the wake of General Electric”™s recent announcement that it will be leaving its global headquarters in Fairfield for Boston, eyes have turned to the company’s more than 600,000 square feet of office space and what will become of it.
Plans are afoot and were brewing even while GE was still considering its move.
GE”™s departure was a possibility the town of Fairfield”™s economic development team had begun planning for last summer, said First Selectman Michael Tetreau.
“The goal was to look at Fairfield, the region, and see what the needs are, what tools we have available, to help reach out and do our best to look at alternatives for that site after GE would leave,” Tetreau said. “At the time we weren”™t certain if they were leaving or not.”
While the Fairfield town government along with regional and state officials mull possible solutions to reuse the property, the town”™s second largest taxpayer and another commercial titan, Kleban Properties, has risen to the challenge.
Chairman Alan Kleban and said he, along with his son and company president Ken, have an affinity for Fairfield and took a personal interest in the future of the Fairfield headquarters.
“When GE announced they were moving out of Fairfield it was quite apparent to us this would be a devastating blow to Fairfield, and it would effect every property owner, every homeowner, it would affect every single retail establishment,” said Alan Kleban. “We concluded together that we have to do something about this ”” we can”™t let this happen. We can”™t let GE remain vacant or let somebody go into the GE property that won”™t enhance Fairfield by providing the right kind of employers who will invigorate the economy.”
Kleban”™s vision for the property includes a technology center with an educational component and multiple tenants in the 30,000- to 75,000-square-foot range, Alan Kleban said.
Tetreau mentioned rumors that Sacred Heart University may be gifted space in the building, but was unable to confirm anything through conversations with GE and the university, he said.
Alan Kleban could not confirm if the university would be moving in, but stated that Kleban was moving positively in the direction of including a university in the future plans.
Although according to a statement by Sacred Heart there is, “No reason to believe that talk of a gift by GE to the university of any or all of its Fairfield property is anything more than a rumor.”
Kleban is currently in negotiations to obtain a nondisclosure agreement from GE so negotiations can move forward, Alan Kleban said.
GE”™s more than 68-acre Easton Turnpike property is currently represented by CBRE, whose regional representative declined to comment as to the status of current negotiations or future expectations for the property.
In addition to questions of what will happen to the GE”™s buildings, residents of Fairfield are curious about what will happen to their town now that their largest taxpayer and one of the most iconic companies in the world will be leaving their community. In a statement following GE”™s decision, Tetreau assured residents that the primary concern of the impact to taxes is no cause for concern.
“Residents should note that GE is scheduled to pay the town $1.6 million in property taxes in fiscal year 2016-17,” he said. “This amount will not change in the short or mid-term. This payment is due regardless of whether GE or someone else owns the property. The total amount of property taxes collected by the town does not change with this move. This will not change the amount other taxpayers owe.”
However, additional concerns remain, such as what will become of 600 company employees who work in Fairfield and when exactly the company will vacate its headquarters.
“The Town does not know the exact number of employees who live in Fairfield,” Tetreau said. “While the 200 employees being relocated to Boston will most likely be selling their homes in the near future, we do not know the decisions for the remaining 600 employees. The phasing of the move should help minimize the impact on Fairfield”™s local real estate market and the Fairfield County real estate market overall.”
Requests for comment as to when the company will vacate the property and where the additional 600 employees will transfer have gone unanswered by GE representatives.
Despite the uncertainty Tetreau remains confident.
“We will certainly miss the title of being home to GE, that is a distinction we have enjoyed for 40 years, and we have lots of good memories,” Tetreau said. “However, I think the Kleban project speaks to a changing economy and it speaks to a purpose which would generate more jobs for Fairfield and the region down the road and that I find very exciting.”