Voters approve turning contaminated site into housing/commercial

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – Voters have approved taking the next step in cleaning the worst

contaminated site in town and turning it into 54 units of combined housing and

commercial development in Brookfield Town Center.

The project at 20 Station Road also would add at least 20 public parking spaces in

the emerging 198-acre central business district.

By a 26-9 vote, at a March 16 special town meeting, residents approved

proceeding with having the town contract with a redevelopment partner to clean

the fluid plum at the former dry cleaners and build the housing/commercial

space.

During his presentation, municipal Community Development Specialist Greg

Dembowski said there would only be a $60,000 municipal contribution for the

project, which would be constructed by a private developer. He said that the

town considered it “best alternative to clean up the site,” and that “doing nothing

means the dry-cleaning fluid plum would remain.”

Dembowski, who formerly held similar positions with Union Carbide and the

Regional YMCA of Western Connecticut, underscored that the town would never

be in the chain of ownership at the site and will have no environmental liability.

Also, he said that the developer would be “responsible for all costs in excess of

the grant award” of $1,207,938.

He remarked that the project would not impact Brookfield’s affordable housing moratorium. As is the case in other Connecticut suburbs, there has been some resistance to affordable housing and the impact it might have on property values.

Dembowski said the town would reap revenue through blight fees of more than

$106,000. During her 2021 election Republican First Selectman Tara Carr had

made action on blight properties a centerpiece in her platform.

Dembowski said the town also would be collecting $17,019 from the current

overdue taxes at the property. He projected that upon completion the new

construction at 20 Station Road would generate at least $150,000 in additional tax

revenue.

He said that the developer has submitted an application for a permit from the

Inland Wetlands Commission and he anticipates that it will be approved in April.

The developer will likely purchase the property.

Dembowski underscored that quarterly groundwater monitoring would be done

for several years.

During public comment, some residents expressed concerns in general about how

the 20 Station Road project and other new construction in Brookfield would

impact sewer capacity. Dembowski indicated that the Water Pollution Control

Authority was scheduled to discuss sewer capacity during its March 22 meeting.

Also on March 16, immediately before approving the 20 Station Road project,

residents by a vote of 42-2 approved at a separate town meeting the fourth

installment of streetscape at Brookfield Town Center.

Dembowski said that installment would extend north of the Four Corners

intersection on Federal Road from the Agora Restaurant to the Newbury Village

age-restricted housing.

The third installment, which extended to Old Route 7, was completed in 2022.

Dembowski said that the project had been approved in February 2021 at a special

town meeting with a $3.6 million price tag. He remarked that $3.15 million would

come from a state Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) grant and the other $450,000 would be provided by the town for design, 50 percent of the utility relocation and project management.

He related that a public information meeting will be held in April and the design should be finalized in June. Action to acquire right of way easements should start in November.

Dembowski estimated that a public bid should come in January 2024 and the contract will likely be awarded a month later. He added that construction is tentatively scheduled to start in April 2024 and be completed by November.

The Brookfield Town Center was first discussed in the late 1980s by Democratic former First Selectman Ken Keller, who later served as chairman of the municipal Economic Development Commission.

The project became more feasible in November 2009 when the 2.1-mile Route 7 bypass opened. The bypass diverted much of the through traffic – which was estimated at 30,000 vehicle trips on a typical weekday - at the congested Four Corners intersection on Federal Road.

George Walker - the marketing director for Brookfield Village, the prime commercial/housing project near the Four Corners - recently told Patch.com that there are now about 15,000 daily vehicle trips through the intersection.

A municipal survey to residents on the Brookfield Town Center was conducted about a decade ago under Democratic former First Selectman Bill Davidson. Tax abetments for the Brookfield Village were issued under Republican former First Selectman Bill Tinsley about eight years ago. The demolition and subsequent construction at Brookfield Village began about seven years ago under Democratic former First Selectman Steve Dunn.

Walker recently said that the third phase of Brookfield Village should be completed late this year. At that point, there will be a total of 125 apartments at that complex.

State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield said in an interview with Patch.com that the activity at Brookfield Town Center has been “a positive” for the town, but that some residents are concerned about the increase in apartment housing.

“There has been commercial – it has been incremental,” he explained. “What I think residents see is a focus on residential. I think primarily people felt it would be more commercial.”

Matt Grimes, a candidate for the Republican nomination for first selectman, recently told Patch.com that even with the changes at Brookfield Town Center, Brookfield is still the town that he grew up in – it just has been “rearranged.”

Harding said he agreed, but that some residents want to leave more parcels undeveloped.

He remarked, “Open space is incredibly important.”

Resources

Materials from March 16, 2023 Brookfield special town meeting.

Stephen Harding interview, Patch.com, March 21, 2023.

Matt Grimes interview, Patch.com, March 8, 2023.

Greg Dembowski interview, Patch.com, February 2, 2023.

George Walker, phone interview, January 31, 2023.