Deal or No Deal?

Local developer John Kimball’s bid to rebuild Fairfield’s Jewish Home for the Elderly in Monroe with Robert D. Scinto over other possible sites in Easton, Trumbull and Stratford were undermined after Bridgeport’s Jewish Community Center got into the act.

Although Kimball and Scinto were convinced that a Monroe facility next door to Swiss Army was all but a done deal, Andrew Bannoff, president and CEO of the JHE, stopped short of a commitment once it was learned that septic issues had to be flushed out.

Folks are calling the JCC/JHE deal a merger, but Bannoff denies it.

"After it was determined that the necessary sewer connections were not available to us in Monroe, we began to pursue alternative locations," said Bannoff. "The Jewish Home has an application that was recently approved in Bridgeport that allows for the creation of a nursing home on that site. If we build, the JCC would also build on that site but it's not a merger. There won't necessarily be two structures though — it hasn't been designed, it's only a concept."

According to Bannoff, the services of New York architects Perkins/ Eastman have been retained for the project.

The Jewish Home's proposal to change zoning regulations and expand its Jefferson Street campus in Fairfield, where it has been since 1973, had been rejected by the town's Plan & Zoning Commission. Officials at the JHE wanted to demolish three existing buildings and construct larger rooms that would have been less institutional and more residential.

The Bridgeport deal will allow the JCC to continue operations at the location where it has been since 1962, while incorporating its activities with a day care facility.

"The Jewish Home has been wanting to build new care center with a household model," Bannoff said. "We've been looking for a long time and this was the best idea for our original plan."

Bannoff did not want to comment on the failed Monroe deal.

The Bridgeport location does not sit well with those who were expecting new business in Monroe.

"They've been saying for years that the home would be built in Monroe, but yesterday I heard on the radio that the Bridgeport P&Z had approved the Jewish Home's application on Park Avenue," said Lee Hossler, chairman of the Monroe Economic Development Commission. "I spoke with Kimball and he was discouraged that they decided not to build here. We thought it would be a good thing for the town, but they had been talking and pared it down to a much smaller version of what we'd discussed several years ago."

Robert Scinto declined to comment. John Kimball did not return phone calls by press time.

"I got an e-mail from a Realtor telling me about the deal and called Mr. Bannoff who sent me an e-mail saying we should talk, but we haven't spoken yet," said First Selectman Steve Vavrek. "I did speak with Mr. Kimball — he and Mr. Scinto are very disappointed, because they've put time, effort and obviously money into the project."

Vavrek added that there had previously been sewage issues, but said they had been resolved.

"Scinto was going to build a septic tank for the home," Vavrek said. "Then we met and talked about building a smaller version. Bannoff said he had to answer to a board, so they made a business decision, I guess."

The first selectman said the Monroe location was ideal because it did not require building on open space.

"In any case, I will be meeting with them next week to discuss what happened," Vavrek concluded.

Some are thrilled with the Bridgeport deal.

Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch applauded the JHE move from Fairfield to the site currently occupied by the Jewish Community Center. The plan calls for the new facility to be built on the Park Avenue side of the 11-acre property, and would meet height and setback requirements for the site. The mayor’s office said that parking would be mostly shielded beneath the building.

"We welcome the Jewish Home for the Elderly's proposal to move their nursing facility to Bridgeport," said Finch. "Their collaboration with the Jewish Community Center will be a win-win proposal for all involved. Bridgeport would gain 750 jobs, a 300-bed nursing facility, and it would allow the JCC to continue to provide its top-flight daycare facility in Fairfield County."

Others were simply blindsided by the development.

"A rumor came to me that the JCC was closing and I have kids that go to camp there," said one area resident. "I spoke with the president of the JCC and he told me that the home for the aged would like to merge with them and if they can they will because the JCC is struggling. But he said the camp will stay in that location for a couple of years because in the context of the merger the building won't be raised for two years."

She was not certain what happened with the plans for the Monroe site.

But is a Bridgeport Jewish Home for the Elderly really a done deal?

"Steve told me as if it was an open secret that they have contracts out but they were not signed because of a land use impediment," she said. "Maybe the camp will go to Monroe — I'm not sure. In the new structure they anticipate building there will still be a JCC, merged in physical sense and they will do underground parking. The home for aged will not be nursing home anymore. As I understand it the plans are pretty far along.”