Newtown finalizes 99-year Fairfield Hills lease for housing redevelopment

Newtown has finalized a 99-year lease with WinnCompanies to redevelop two vacant Fairfield Hills buildings into age-restricted and moderate-income housing, ending years of negotiation and putting the long-running reuse plan onto a financing and planning track.

The agreement covers Shelton House and Kent House on the former state hospital campus. Town officials say the project will also include some commercial space and could return the buildings to the tax rolls once they reopen.

The Legislative Council approved the deal on June 17. News-Times reported the finalized agreement on June 24.

Under the lease, WinnCompanies will make a $500,000 payment at formal closing, which the town expects within five years.

How the deal came together

The Fairfield Hills housing plan has been years in the making. In 2020, 55% of Newtown voters backed allowing housing on the campus, clearing a major political hurdle for residential reuse.

The town later adopted zoning changes that permitted residential use in two Fairfield Hills buildings. Those changes opened the door for a redevelopment proposal that had previously been blocked by the site’s former use and its historic status.

Earlier reporting in September 2025 said negotiations were still unresolved and lease language remained in flux. The June 2026 approval marked the point at which the town and developer finally reached a completed agreement.

What will be built

The initial plan described in reporting calls for Shelton House to include 50 one- and two-bedroom age-restricted moderate-income apartments, along with some commercial space.

Kent House is expected to include 125 units and about 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Final unit counts and design details can still change as the project moves through the next round of review.

WinnCompanies can now inspect the buildings, continue financing work and prepare development plans for the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The financial stakes

Town leaders say the deal helps Newtown avoid a costly alternative. First Selectman Bruce Walczak said the town would avoid more than $10 million in demolition costs if the agreement had not been approved.

The town also expects the buildings to generate full property tax revenue once they reopen. Walczak said there will be no tax incentives for WinnCompanies after revaluation.

The lease also calls for a $500,000 payment at closing, giving the town an immediate cash benefit before construction starts.

Why Fairfield Hills matters

Fairfield Hills is the former state hospital campus in Newtown, acquired by the town roughly two decades ago. Officials have spent years debating how to reuse the property, and the campus has already seen other demolitions and civic uses.

The buildings carry state and federal historic designation, which affects what can be changed and helps explain why redevelopment has taken so long to assemble.

Those preservation rules limit exterior changes, so the project has to adapt the existing buildings rather than replace them.

The historic designation may also support eligibility for historic tax credits and moderate-income housing credits, which are important to the financing plan.

What officials said

Anthony Filiato of the Fairfield Hills Authority said the agreement is the first real opportunity to do something with the buildings and would shift liability off Newtown once the closing is complete.

Larry Curtis, chairman of WinnCompanies, called the project a long-term community development goal and said the company has experience restoring historic structures.

Town officials still expect more work before construction can begin. WinnCompanies must finish inspections, line up financing and submit plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The next stage will likely define the final unit mix, the commercial uses and any conditions attached by planners.

For Newtown, the lease turns a long-discussed Fairfield Hills reuse plan into a real redevelopment project with financing, preservation and fiscal stakes now in motion.