A generation later, Foncello says Brookfield Town Center is good, but could be better

By Scott Benjamin

NEWTOWN –The stake-holders for the Brookfield Route 7 bypass had assembled in room 133 of the Brookfield Municipal Center on a seasonably warm July afternoon 26 years ago.

U.S. Rep. Jim Maloney (D-5) of Danbury had called the meeting and Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R-Brookfield) was sitting near him.

The 2.1-mile bypass would re-route some of the 30,000 daily vehicle trips through the Four Corners intersection of Federal Road.It would make it possible to develop the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center – a pedestrian-friendly New England-style central business district that would be separate from the Miracle Mill along the southern corridor of Federal Road.

Weeks earlier, state officials had said the long-awaited bypass could not be built. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would only approval another less-extensive route that would have less impact on the environment. Plus, the costs were about $25 million beyond projections.

Brookfield Republican First Selectman Marty Foncello politely said the route selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would do little to relieve traffic congestion through the Four Corners, which had delays during the commuter rush hours.

He was committed to the project. He had served on the town’s Economic Development Commission when Ken Keller was chairman. Keller, a Democrat, had developed the concept for Brookfield Town Center and became its champion.

Before the end of the meeting, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had agreed to the desired route. And in December, Maloney had helped secure an additional $25 million to make the project possible.

Foncello would leave office in 2003, six years before the bypass opened. Around 2016 streetscape was approved for the area and construction had begun for Brookfield Village, the first major component. Within the last year Emporium Plaza has been completed and the Food Emporium supermarket is in operation.

It is Thursday night, May 21, 2026. Befitting a Republican convention there is a red table cloth at the front of the Newtown Senior Center and a cup holder with mini-American flags.

Foncello is being nominated for his third term as state representative in the 107^th District – which includes all of Brookfield, the Hawleyville section of Newtown and the Stony Hill portion of Bethel.

He will face Brookfield Board of Assessment Appeals Chairman Julie Kerton, the Democratic nominee, in the November 3 election.

What is Foncello’s evaluation of Brookfield Town Center?

“When I was first selectman, I wanted to do something different with the road network around the center,” he explained. “That was turned down by the state back then.”

“Now we have to deal with what we have down there,” he added. “I think it is a nice place. I’d like to see more of the homes there be for seniors and for veterans, so they could do grocery shopping and have a good time without having to drive a car.”

In recent years, some residents have said too many apartments have been built too soon.

Commented Foncello, “I’m concerned about the proximity to the roadway. They need to be set back more in my opinion. We need to have a little bit more green [open space] in there to make it more livable.”

In nominating Foncello, Brookfield Republican Town Committee Chairman Robert Guarino commented that “no one will outwork” Foncello. He said that Foncello takes “countless phone calls.”

In seconding the nomination, Dominic Pasquarella, the secretary of the Newtown Republican Town Committee, said as a young person in politics he “couldn’t be more grateful” than to have Foncello as a role model.

On the issues, when inflation was soaring in 2022, the state suspended the 25-cent per gallon tax on gasoline and 49-cent per gallon levy on diesel fuel from April through December.

Should it take a similar step now with gasoline price approaching five dollars a gallon?

Commented Foncello, “I would like to see some kind of break for the consumer.”

But he said he is not sure on how long there would need to be a gas tax holiday.

“It is elevated at the moment because of the activity in Iran,” Foncello remarked. “As that winds down – and I’m certain that it will wind down by the middle of summer when that happens the price of gas will go down. The price of food will also go down, because it costs money to ship food.”

During the recent session of the General Assembly, the House approved a ban on smart phones in the schools and the Senate didn’t take a vote.

“I know both sides of the issue,” Foncello commented. “ My wife is an educator. I know a lot of teachers.”

He said, “I prefer to leave things up to the local level. Let the Board of Education and the selectmen decide. I don’t like having many things mandated. I don’t like mandates at all. I think the towns should decide it.”

“I am confident that they will cut back or eliminate the use of them in the schools,” he commented.

Foncello served in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Connecticut has three major defense contractors – Lockheed Martin at Igor Sikorsky in Stratford, General Dynamics with Electric Boat in Groton and RTX with Francis Pratt and Amos Whitney in East Hartford.

Will they continue to thrive with increased competition from Silicon Valley?

Said Foncello, “We want to see more submarines built here, we want more helicopters. I’d like to see more artificial intelligence here in Connecticut. I think some of that will be tied into the defense contracts.”