Selectmen Back 'Fairfield Metro' as Name of New Train Station

It looks like "Fairfield Metro" will be the name of the town's upcoming third train station after all.

The Board of Selectmen voted 2-0, with one abstention, Wednesday afternoon to recommend that the state Department of Transportation name the train station on lower Black Rock Turnpike after a major commercial development that is planned next to it.

Selectmen James Walsh and Sherri Steeneck voted in favor. First Selectman Ken Flatto, who favored the name "Grasmere Metro," abstained.

Walsh said he thought it was important to link the name of the station to the proposed commercial development in an effort to get the development built and help the town's tax rolls. "I feel strongly it should still be called the Fairfield Metro Center. That was the name it was given 10 years ago," Walsh said, adding he believed that name was in a tri-party agreement among the town, DOT and Blackrock Realty, LLC, the developer, and that it was the name DOT officials thought it would be called.

"My main goal here is to try to rent out all of that space there so we can build up that area of town and make the project a success. I would like to still have it named 'Fairfield Metro Center,' " Walsh added. "I would like the project to match the station name so when this is being sold as a package...they could say, 'We have a station named after our complex.' "

Walsh added that he thinks people have gotten used to the name.

Though Walsh favored the name "Fairfield Metro Center," the name approved by the Board of Selectmen was "Fairfield Metro Station." The DOT typically leaves the word "Station" off signs identifying train stations, so the name would be "Fairfield Metro" under the selectmen's recommendation Wednesday afternoon.

Walsh said he didn't think the train station should be called "Black Rock" - which was among names favored in a townwide survey - because Black Rock was in Bridgeport and Bridgeport didn't contribute toward the station's construction. "It was the taxpayers of Fairfield," he said.

Walsh also didn't think the station should be called "Grasmere" because newer residents might not know the location of the Grasmere section of town.

Steeneck also favored "Fairfield Metro Station" for economic reasons. "It is more important that the project get off the ground, especially the way the economy is now," she said. She said linking the train station's name to the nearly 1 million square feet of commercial development that Blackrock Realty wants to build would help the developer market the property and would help expand the town's tax base. Blackrock's development would mostly be office buildings, though a hotel and retail space also have been mentioned in the past.

Steeneck suggested the DOT might want to rename the downtown train station "Fairfield Center" to avoid confusion with the upcoming third train station in town.

Flatto said he attended a meeting recently with DOT officials and the town's state delegation and no one seemed to like "Fairfield Black Rock," which was the name Flatto said he initially preferred because it linked two areas. But Flatto said the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce thought his idea might confuse the identity of local merchants and also confuse visitors to the area since the 35.5-acre property where the train station and commercial development will be built is in Fairfield.

Flatto said he dropped the idea but still thought "Grasmere Metro" was "a little more local in flavor and a little more community friendly."

Flatto said he abstained from the vote on "Fairfield Metro Station" because he thought it was important to close the issue and he didn't want the DOT to think there was consternation about it on the Board of Selectmen.

Flatto seemed pleased the first-floor conference room in Sullivan-Independence Hall wasn't filled with people. "It may not be the most essential item facing the town," he said.