Commercial development in Newtown steady with several new development projects started

Located in northeastern Fairfield County the town of Newtown is situated between Waterbury and Danbury with immediate access to I-84 at interchanges 9, 10 and 11. CT Rtes. 6, 25, 34 and 302 provide additional transportation links and the Housatonic Railroad operates a freight line with direct access to many sites. A plan to expand bus transit between Waterbury and Danbury and between Bridgeport and Danbury has been proposed by the Housatonic Area Regional Transit (HART). The new transit routes will open new transportation opportunities for employees and employers in the region. The plan for a stop over in Newtown is being explored and service between Waterbury and Danbury may begin as soon as this fall. Newtown's location along these corridors offers ease of access for workers and the shipment of goods to and from their markets. The pace of commercial development in Newtown has been steady over the winter with several new development projects on the drawing boards. New projects are taking shape on South Main St. (Rte. 25) where new zoning has ignited interest in this highly traveled corridor. Several land use approvals are in place and on the drawing boards for the corridor. Site work on the new 70,000 s/f Plaza South was started and progress on completing the first building for the Highland Plaza has also been made. TNT Partners is making progress on their new headquarters building in the Curtis Park and half of the 25,000 s/f commercial/industrial condo that E&R Commercial LLC built has been sold and occupied. The Newtown Youth Academy, a privately funded 80,000 s/f sports complex on the Fairfield Hills Campus is under development and a fall opening is planned. The Hawley Construction Company is in the process of renovating 16,000 s/f within a building on the campus for medical offices. Leases are being worked out and occupancy may be as soon as January of next year. The Fairfield Hills Authority is actively working on leases for other commercial development upon the campus. The Borough of Newtown is in the process of a commercial building renaissance. New village district zoning was adopted about five years ago just before several new projects were proposed. The village is in the midst of a building boom complete with new sidewalks, streetlamps and landscaping that tie the district together as a central business district complete with new shops, offices, banks and restaurants. Several new commercial buildings have been constructed on Church Hill Rd. in the past three years including two new commercial buildings that were completed over the winter and several others approved for construction. Plans have been filed for renovations to the Eton Center where Caraluzzi's Market of Bethel will be the anchor tenant along with Wachovia Bank. Brause Realty which owns the site has plans to renovate the existing 45,000 s/f building, redevelop and landscape the parking areas, add streetscape elements and construct a new building on Church Hill Rd. for Wachovia. A recent approval for a new convenience store and gas station and a large addition to the school facility at Saint Rose Church also add to the rebirth of the borough. Further down Church Hill Rd., a 6,600 s/f commercial building is approved for construction directly off exit 10 of I-84. Two new commercial projects are in the planning phase for Sandy Hook Center along with an affordable housing development. Land use approvals have also been given for a new 7,500 s/f commercial building in Hawleyville immediately off exit 9 of I-84. Newtown's Economic Development Commission is ready to assist its businesses to grow locally and provides assistance to new companies to help get their business up and running in their Newtown location. A listing of available properties is accessible from the commission's web site at www.newtown.org. Elizabeth Stocker, AICP is director of planning and community development for the Town of Newtown, Conn.