Whatever happened to.....? The New Fairfield Motel
Erik Ofgang, Contributing Writer
Published: 10:55 p.m., Saturday, November 27, 2010
BOBBERS
bait
- This sign is for the New Fairfield Motel, which James Piskura bought in 2009, renovated and is hoping will now lure tourists. Please credit Corinne Morrell Photo: Contributed Photo / The News-Times Contributed
In the 1950s, the New Fairfield Motel was a destination for New York City tourists who came to town to spend time on the lake.More than half century later, new owner James Piskurais hoping to lure New Yorkers and others back.Piskura, 49, of New Fairfield, bought the one-story, 13-room motel in February of 2009. For many years prior to that purchase, the building -- at 89 Route 39 -- had been a low-income residency for patrons who paid weekly or monthly fees.Piskura began renovating and fixing up the motel, which had been largely unchanged since the 1950s, to reopen it for nightly guests.He said he hopes to capitalize on the motel's proximity to Candlewood Lake -- in particular, he'd like to lure fisherman who participate in the many fishing competitions on the lake."There's 500 bass tournaments on Candlewood Lake every year," he said. "I'm two miles from the state boat launch."In addition, Piskura wants to provide a lodging option for the visiting in-laws of New Fairfield residents. Ideally, Piskura said, he would like to have the motel open from spring till around Thanksgiving and then "shut it down for the winter."The motel was originally built in the 1950s by the Donaldson family, which owned much of the surrounding property and the gas station across the street. For two decades it was used by "the New York crowd from the city coming to use the lake," Piskura said.In the 1970s the motel changed hands and the new owners started offering monthly rentals."That's when it fell out of it's glory," Piskura said.Piskura owns the two houses next to the motel. He lives in one with his wife, Dr. Lorraine Burio, and she runs her dentist practice out of the other. When the opportunity to buy the motel arose, Piskura said he bought it because "it was adjacent to my properties and it just made sense to buy it and try to clean it up a little bit."New Fairfield First Selectman John Hodge said he was happy to hear the place will reopen as a motel."I think that's welcome news," Hodge said. "New Fairfield doesn't have any place for those who want to come up and enjoy the lake for a weekend."Piskura owns Lucrative Building Properties Inc., a company that does property management and has been handling the motel renovation. He said when he opens the motel he plans on having a low-key atmosphere "somewhere between a motel and a bed and breakfast."Piskura hopes to open next spring, and joked that if he doesn't, the consequences could be dire."I have to have it open by spring of 2011 or my wife will divorce me," he said.
