Office park owner proposes warehouse

47,000-square-foot structure would provide space for light manufacturer in Brookfield

BROOKFIELD — A public hearing is set for the proposed construction of a 47,000square-foot office and warehouse facility for a light manufacturing company within the Berkshire Corporate Office Park.

At the town’s Zoning Commission meeting earlier this month, members set the hearing date for 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at Brookfield Town Hall. The proposed development, located at 101 Park Ridge Road inside the Brookfield section of Berkshire Corporate Park, is permitted under the site’s allowable uses.

The plans call for the construction of a light manufacturing and warehouse facility that includes office space and associated driveways, along with parking space, grading, utilities and landscapes.

Owned and operated by the Steiner family for over four decades, Berkshire Corporate Park was designed in the Swiss tradition of smart building through land preservation, according to the real estate group’s website.

Featuring over 1 million square feet, built to date, it is situated on 300 parklike acres and over 1 million buildable, Berkshire Corporate Park is Northern Fairfield County’s leading corporate park, according to the owners’ website.

The company boasts over 70 years’ experience in the real estate industry, according to its website, and has developed and managed more than 2.5 million square feet of commercial and residential properties. The location is already home to offices belonging to the battery-producer, Duracell and the global engineering and technology company, Emerson.

According to Greg Steiner, of Berkshire North, the owner of the corporate office park, the firm is working to gain the permitting approval before leasing the property to a local business.

Steiner said Monday, the plan is to gain approval for the development before entering into a long-term lease with the light manufacturing operator — a “local business” who he declined to name.

“It’s a good project and its good for the town,” he added.

While the office-park development is permitted under the allowable uses for the property, some questions remain over how the proposed facility would affect a sewer moratorium implemented by the town of Brookfield last year.

Brookfield’s sewer system pushes its output to Danbury, where ongoing sewer treatment plant upgrades required by federal law prompted the town to hold back its overall outfall.

Under an agreement between Brookfield and Danbury, a limit of 500,000 gallons per day of wastewater discharge from Brookfield is permitted to be treated at the city’s John Oliver Memorial Sewer Treatment Plant. But that capacity was reduced to 380,000 gallons of wastewater per day as a result of federal regulations.

Under the current regulations, the Zoning Commission could approve the project but that approval would be contingent on the Brookfield Water Pollution Control Authority issuing a permit for the development to link into the sewer system. The Zoning Commission’s decision would not take into account the sewer moratorium.

“Zoning takes some of that into effect, but they can’t make a decision based on that because they are a separate commission,” said Francis Lollie, a zoning enforcement officer for the town.

It is unclear how many employees would be working at the light manufacturing property upon its completion. According to a copy of the zoning application, the plans call for 200 parking spaces, but the application field marked for the number of employees was listed as “NA,” or, not available.