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Fairfield University Will Partner in GE Headquarters Redevelopment

Harriet Jones
/
WNPR
GE's Fairfield headquarters is a suburban campus

Fairfield University said it will partner to redevelop the headquarters campus that General Electric is leaving in the town.

GE is currently in talks with developer Kleban Properties to sell the 68-acre property, as it departs for Boston.

Kleban has now invited Fairfield University to move some of its activities to the site. Those could include its business incubator and a new venture in executive education.

Kevin Lawlor is the University’s executive vice president. "Because of the nature of the development, both in healthcare and in high-tech business acceleration, we thought it was an exciting possibility for the university," he told WNPR.

"We're a citizen of the Fairfield County area, and we want to see that space freed up by General Electric be used for good purposes," he said. "And to the extent that we can contribute to an overall development that's positive for the area, we want to be part of that too."

GE has been Fairfield’s largest tax payer for some 40 years. Last year, its local property tax bill was close to $2 million. It’s not yet clear how the new development -- which would be in private hands, but would include education and non-profit use -- will affect the town’s tax base.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.