Waterford ― Residents and members of various historic preservation and environmental groups spoke at a meeting Thursday night that was held to solicit input on the design of a new version of Seaside State Park.
Sixty people were in attendance, including officials from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and its consulting firm FHI Studio.
The meeting was the latest in a series of public outreach initiatives conducted by DEEP to help it implement a plan for Seaside. Announced by the DEEP last year, the $7.1 million project, which would involve the demolition of several historic Seaside buildings designed by Cass Gilbert, would, according to DEEP, improve visitors’ ability to access the waterfront and protect the site from coastal flooding.
The plan calls for removing the deteriorated buildings, improving the shoreline and parking areas and adding bathrooms, walking trails and picnic areas. New features that would memorialize and commemorate the architecture and the historic significance of the site would be added.
DEEP says it settled on the plan after exploring multiple options about what to do with the property and historic buildings there ― which have deteriorated since Seaside Sanatorium was closed in 1996 and subsequently purchased by the state. DEEP Deputy Commissioner Mason Trumbull said Thursday those options ranged in cost from $2.8 to about $60 million, the latter of which would have created a destination park and restored the historic buildings.
Trumbull said the state’s goal with the $7.1 million allocation would be to make the “best investment” it can in the park and make it enjoyable for the people of Connecticut.
He said $7.1 million would not cover the restoration of the buildings.
“Knowing that, we want to be as thoughtful as possible with how we commemorate the legacy of those buildings in the design of the park,” he said, adding that’s why DEEP has been doing so much public outreach.
Those who spoke at the meeting said they wanted to honor and preserve the historic structures and make sure the park is accessible to those with disabilities. They also asked who would maintain the grounds.
Kristen Widham, president of the Waterford Historical Society, said the state has done nothing over the years to maintain the building and now the the situation has progressed to “where we have to talk about demolition.”
“So I think we need to honor some of the physical structures there from famous architect Cass Gilbert, you know, we have to keep some of that alive if you will, still standing there as a relic,” she said. “So I really think if you just put some placards there, it won’t have that three dimensional affect on you as the visual presence of some of those buildings.“
“I hope that what happens after this meeting is not that you heard people and went ahead with the project. Because we care very much about Waterford and what’s here,“ she said
One thing DEEP or its consultant did not mention, was the pending lawsuit of Mark Steiner, a developer who has long desired to transform some of the Seaside buildings into upscale housing while preserving public access to the shoreline,
At Thursday’s meeting, resident John W. “Bill” Sheehan asked how DEEP would deal with the lawsuit from Mark Steiner.
In April, Steiner filed a lawsuit in which he blamed the state’s failure to care for the buildings as the reason they deteriorated. He sought an injunction preventing the demolition of five historic buildings.
The court has yet to decide whether Steiner has met the necessary conditions to sue the state under the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Under the doctrine, a state cannot be sued in federal and state court without its consent.
Trumbull said “that’s currently being handled by the judicial system, so we don’t have a comment.”
Thursday’s meeting was the latest step in a series of public outreach initiatives taken by DEEP.
d.drainville@theday.com
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