Capital Planning Committee Weighs Selling Off Town-Owned Properties, Some Historic

The Wilton Capital Planning Committee took a closer look at some of the town property inventory on Wednesday night, July 16, opening discussions on whether it might be worthwhile and more practical to sell some of them off.

Drawing on a six-year old property report, and following two separate tours by the WCPC of the schools and some municipal buildings, respectively, members discussed facets of different town-owned buildings, including six residential properties.

“Why do we own these properties?” Board of Finance Chair Matt Raimondi asked. “Why are we in the business of residential real estate? I’m just curious how we got there.”

First Selectman Toni Boucher said that is a question that has occupied her office for the past year.

“Why are we in the business of landlords (and) should we be?” she said, citing more pressing needs facing the town than overseeing residential rental properties.

She said that while the historic property known as Marvin Tavern at 405 Danbury Rd. was deed restricted, the five other residential properties should be reviewed by the WCPC for potential sale. These include houses at 415 Danbury Rd., 49 Old Danbury Rd., 275 Hurlbutt St. (which is the Yellow House at Ambler Farm), and houses at 7 and 31 New Street.

“It would be easier to have it be privately owned and revert to property taxes, versus none,” Boucher said of rental properties.

WCPC Chair Jeff Rutishauser, who took part in the preparation of the 2019 report, noted that there were distinct financial advantages in selling the properties, including freeing the town of upkeep responsibilities.

“The town is horribly under-renting these things,” Rutishauser said. 

Excluding the Yellow House — or Platt Raymond House — at Ambler Farm, the other five properties had a combined potential sale value of over $2 million, according to the 2019 report.

“That was six years ago, so double those numbers now,” Rutishauser said.

Two of the properties are held as below-market rentals as perks for a school employee and a Wilton Police Department employee, respectively.

The 2019 report, which states that town objectives for even owning “non-essential property” including historic preservation and affordable housing for Town or Board of Education employees, recommended that the town consider a deed-restricted sale for each of the five residential properties.

Rutishauser made note of what he called the “Georgetown Cluster,” which includes the former Gilbert & Bennett School at 49 New St., and the houses at 7 and 31 New St., all three of which rest contiguously on the west side of the street, making a single 8.5-acre town-owned parcel.

“It offers some possibilities that stand-alones don’t,” he said, with the town potentially able to reconfigure the properties as it saw fit for sale.

Along with the Gilbert & Bennett School, nonresidential properties that were discussed include Old Town Hall at 69 Ridgefield Rd., Center School and Town Green at 101 Old Ridgefield Rd., and Dana House/Trackside Teen Center at 15/19 Station Rd.

At this time, Old Town hall, which is on the National Historic Registry, is rented to the Wilton Garden Club for one dollar per year, with a lease renewing automatically every three years. Though the club generates revenue from events, the town is responsible for the first $5,000 of operating expenses each year, along with other costs and any major repairs over $600.

Trackside is leased for one dollar per year, with the lease due to expire in 2033. 

Gilbert & Bennett School currently stands vacant and in significant disrepair, with Boucher estimating it would cost $3-4 million to repair it.

The Center School and Town Green property have a lease extending through 2045, with the town receiving $45,000 a year plus gross revenues.

According to the report, nine of the 10 properties listed are historic. “Since protection of existing historic structure not in an historic district and in private ownership is relative weak,” it states, citing the short-term notice for demolitions, “the only way to ensure their preservation is if they (1) remain in Town ownership or (2) are sold on a deed-restricted basis.”