Bypass Complete, Pedestrian Village At The Gate

Now that 25,000 fewer cars drive through Four Corners, the town is considering what will replace them.

The Economic Development Commission and the Zoning Commission are hoping and planning that a pedestrian-friendly retail village will replace the lost cars. The plan includes sidewalks and decorative benches under old-time lamps all surrounded by Four Corners restaurants and shops. Some of those visitors will walk downstairs from their apartments.

"It has to look inviting," said Hal Kurfehs, chairman of the Economic Development Commission. The town plan of development gave the commission responsibility for the long-awaited retail village. The idea first arose in the 1980s. "We've had four or five public hearings. Everyone is for a village center."

Kurfehs said the challenge the plan faced for several years was disagreement over the size of the buildings that will be allowed, the density of development in the village, and this year the newest challenge is how to attract tenants in a weak economy.

"Zoning has done its part," Kurfehs said. Now businesses have to join the town by agreeing to move in, and that work is underway.

Former First Selectman Jerry Murphy said the last big hurdle to the village concept was opening the Route 7 bypass, which he said shifted approximately 27,000 cars away from the Four Corners village. He said with the cars gone, it is now safe for the town to develop the village.

"The economy stinks. That's the real problem right now," Murphy said. "Everyone favors the pedestrian village."

The final issue for developers and the town of Brookfield to settle is the size of the buildings in the village. The Zoning Commission approved two story buildings, with the ground store being retail and the second floor being residential.

Murphy and Kurfehs both said a third floor is required. The additional floor of living space is critical for developers, who can then afford to put an elevator into each building. The elevator makes leasing each apartment easier, and the additional residents help support the first-floor businesses.

"You need to have your lights on day and night," said Danbury Broker and Developer Mark Nolan, who manages more than 1,500 apartments in the greater Danbury area. He is not involved in the Brookfield village project, but he said he is watching it closely as a builder and developer. "Of course they need the second floor. It's a traffic generator."

Nolan said in other towns developers who started out with commercial projects alone were later forced to add housing to help the commercial businesses survive.

"Without the right balance of commercial and residential, you won't see the pedestrian traffic. People come home, they walk around and you get the feeling of community," Nolan said.