Yes to shops, no to houses
Survey reveals residents’ preferences for Fairfield Hills
NEWTOWN — If the town wants to convert the former state hospital grounds into the civic and cultural center of Newtown, it needs to have more places on campus to eat, drink and be merry.
That’s according to a new survey of Newtown residents about the 185-acre Fairfield Hills property, commissioned by planners to understand how the campus is meeting residents’ expectations.
“I think that small businesses, restaurants, and shops would be a great asset to the campus, as people could go to these places while at events and help Newtown’s economy as well,” one resident said in the write-in section of the survey.
The survey results, which were discussed publicly for the first time Tuesday at a meeting of the Fairfield Hills Master Plan Review Committee, found that residents want more bathrooms, rest areas and outdoor entertainment at Fairfield Hills, along with more restaurants and pubs.
The survey found residents were strongly against building housing of any kind on campus.
“Fairfield Hills has always been one of the best places to go to relax and enjoy nature,” a survey taker wrote in the write-in section. “Putting in housing and big buildings for shopping will just ruin the whole campus ... a couple of small shops here and there are fine but please do not overdo it.”
The survey of 1,800 Newtown adults, conducted from mid-April to mid-May, comes at a time of transformation for Fairfield Hills, where contractors have nearly completed a
$15 million community center and adjoining
$3 million senior center.
First Selectman Dan Rosenthal declined to comment on the survey results until he had read the report, but said it was unlikely the hulking empty hospital buildings that dominate the campus landscape could be reused by the private sector for anything other than housing.
“I think we have to encourage mixed-use development,” Rosenthal said.
The town originally hoped commercial developers would renovate the red brick buildings when it bought Fairfield Hills in 2004. The reality is that it costs more to remediate hazardous materials and renovate the buildings than to build from scratch.
As a result, Newtown has been paying several million dollars apiece to tear down the old buildings, while marketing smaller buildings for reuse.
The 225,000-square-foot Canaan House was razed at a cost of $3.5 million.
That cleared the way for the town to begin construction on the community center and senior center, which are slated for a soft opening in July.
Smaller buildings are faring better. An outfit called Asylum Brewing Co. is renovating the 9,000-square-foot Stratford Hall — once the hospital’s library and executive dining room.
As for the remaining large buildings, residents are holding out hope for redevelopment.
Some 54 percent of survey takers were against demolishing the boarded-up buildings.
“I strongly encourage the renovation and reuse of existing structures, as they have historical and cultural value and because it seems wasteful to demolish them,” one resident wrote.