Residential development at Fairfield Hills, the 185-acre campus that houses Newtown”™s government, will be on the November ballot in the latest effort at doing something with most of its long-vacant buildings.
“It”™s basically a continuation of a process that”™s been going on for a number of years,” remarked First Selectman Dan Rosenthal, who has been a cheerleader for developing the property since he won the office in 2017. “We”™ve talked to different stakeholders and conducted a survey ”“ whose results can”™t be discounted.”
Indeed, the survey of 1,825 Newtown adult residents, conducted in the spring of 2019, was viewed by many as a strong “no” against adding a housing element to the campus: 78% of responses were classified as “totally unfavorable” to age- and income-restricted apartments, while 77% “totally unfavorable” votes were cast against income-restricted apartments or condos. Just 16% of responses were seen as “highly favorable” to mixed-use.
Nevertheless, Rosenthal said, most survey respondents were also against the town”™s continuing to spend money on the campus ”“ to the tune of $200,000 in annual maintenance ”“ “and you can”™t have it both ways.”
To date Newtown has spent nearly $40 million to demolish some of the campus”™ aging buildings ”“ it was the home of a psychiatric hospital from 1931-1995 ”“ and to erect a Municipal Center and a Community Center. Residents voted in June 2001 to acquire the land and buildings for $3.9 million.
Fairfield Hills welcomed its first commercial tenant, NewSylum Brewing Co. ”“ itself years in the making ”“ earlier this year. Even then, however, Newtown helped with the cost of renovating the 9,000-square-foot building via some $180,000.
Tearing down the remaining buildings could cost somewhere in the $25-30 million range.
Rosenthal said some of campus”™ larger buildings would not be conducive to housing, but that reuse of its existing five duplexes could prove a winner: “It would loosen up a little bit of a revenue stream,” he said.
The first selectman warned that any housing on campus would be “multi-family, not single-family ”“ we”™re not going to construct monolithic buildings” that would be out of character for the mostly bucolic area.
Even with the apparent thumbs-down from Newtown”™s citizenry, Rosenthal said, “I didn”™t feel comfortable just going on the survey results.” A Fairfield Hills Master Plan Committee of 10 people, formed in the summer of 2018, ultimately recommended mixed-use with some commercial elements; Planning & Zoning then agreed to change the campus”™ zoning to adaptive reuse.
Rosenthal acknowledged that he has had talks with both commercial and residential developers, though obviously the latter will have to wait until the results of the November balloting.
“There”™s no question that we”™re going to get about a 90% turnout of voters” then, he said, which will provide a final consensus on the issue.
“If the vote is ”˜yes,”™ then our path forward is pretty clear,” he said. “If it”™s ”˜no,”™ then we”™ll plan accordingly that way. It won”™t be the answer I want, but it is the answer I will accept. I”™ll accept whatever folks say.
“Either way,” he added, “I don”™t see the result being ambiguous.”
He further acknowledged that, even if residents approve the proposal, it could be some time before housing becomes a reality.
“The economic landscape may not line up for the foreseeable future, thanks to the Covid crisis,” he said.
Even so, Newtown appears to be weathering the pandemic”™s economic effects pretty well.
“Our financial director just reported that we”™re going to be about $500,000 off from last year in terms of property tax collection,” Rosenthal said. “But a lot of that was deferred to Oct. 1, when we have $600,000 slated to come in.
“But,” he added, “you don”™t know until you know.”
