Business View Magazine | December 2019

321 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 THE TOWN OF FA I RF I ELD , CONNECT I CUT substantial greenway along Mill River, as well as parking and public access to the river for recreation, fishing, and small boat use. A new project in town is the renovation of the historic Community Theatre in downtown Fairfield. Originally opened as a vaudeville house in 1923, the Theatre changed to an all-film format in 1929, went through several different iterations, and closed for good in 2011. The defunct property is now going to be renovated and repurposed by Sacred Heart University (SHU) and Kleban Properties, who will turn it into a contemporary venue and state-of-the-art theater for the university and the community, while maintaining much of its classical features. “SHU will bring their Performing Arts Center down to the Community Theatre, so we’ll have a completely renovated building and commercial space,” says Tetreau. “There’s one restaurant at ground level there, now, and they’re going to develop the rooftop to make it a real dynamic destination for rooftop dining. That will really be a bright spot for downtown Fairfield, and a boost for our entire downtown. So we’re very excited about that.” “In addition, on the other side of town, there’s Stratfield Market that has lain dormant for almost a decade, now,” Tetreau adds. “It’s currently undergoing work, as is the whole four corners area it’s located on. We’ve got almost a million dollars worth of renovations going into streetscaping to make that a much more attractive and vibrant location on that side of town.” Barnhart mentions another notable development project near the Fairfield Metro Center, which opened in December 2011, and is one of the town’s three commuter rail stops on the Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven Line. “We just completed a mixed-use project in that area,” he reports. “101 new residential units over 15,000-sq.-ft. of retail and there’s a second phase currently under construction – 160 units over Historic Community Theatre