The Ridgefield Board of Selectmen have held the first of three hearings about how to move forward with a 10 acre parcel of the Schlumberger land. The property was going to be sold to a developer for 30 luxury condos, but the vote failed during the recent budget referendum. The proposed sale to Toll Brothers was for $4 million.
During the hearing last night, many residents called for more planning.
During the meeting, the Newstimes reports that First Selectman Rudy Marconi revealed more details about a 12 acre parcel of the 40 acres. The plan is to lease the land, and some of the buildings, to an art collector for $250,000 a year. It's not an outright sale because of environmental remediation that needs to be done. The art dealer could buy the leased parcel for $3.4 million and use the Philip Johnson building for a museum.
The town was authorized during a vote in 2011 to buy the land for $7 million to avoid overdevelopment. So far, five acres has been sold to developer Stephen Zemo for office space and a hotel for $1.25 million.
