By Adam Swift
City planning officials and consultants provided an update on the Gibson Park redevelopment project during a public forum last week.
The project includes not only the redevelopment of the park itself, but also the transformation of the old Boatworks building into a community boating building and a vegetative berm project extending from the boatyard on Mills Avenue to protect against flooding in the neighborhood.
The timeline for the project, as well as the cost, is dependent on an extensive local and state permitting process, since the project sits in an environmentally sensitive area, according to Elle Baker of the city’s planning and community development department.
Currently, the city has secured about $6.5 million in funding for the project, has another $4 million in the pipeline, and is still identifying additional grants for the project, Baker said.
Residents who attended the meeting did raise concerns about the lack of access points along the berm to the waterfront, as well as potential noise from the use of the boatworks building as a community meeting and event space.
There are currently a number of access points to the water along Mills Avenue. The initial plans for the berm limit that to one open access point, along with several maintenance access points.
The public works department would be able to close up that access point in the event of a predicted storm or flooding situation.
Baker said since there is still an extensive permitting process to go through, there could be a balance of keeping the area protected with a berm and providing some additional access points. She recommended that the residents stay involved in the permitting process and address their concerns to the state.
The Gibson Park project grew out of the Riverfront Master Planning process, which began in 2019 and was approved by the City Council in 2020.
“When we started to dig into the park, we realized there is a lot more to it,” said Baker. “We were able to acquire the boatyard in 2020, and with that, we were able to expand recreational opportunities to extend Gibson Park a little bit further.”
The major highlights of the Gibson Park redevelopment include the creation of a multi-purpose field which will replace the current baseball diamond, along with a stormwater management system underneath the field.
The field could be used for soccer and lacrosse, as well as baseball and softball.
Four tennis courts will remain at the park, but two of those courts will be relocated to the south portion of the Boatworks property.
Plans also call for more seating and trees to provide passive recreation for the neighborhood.
In addition to the Gibson Park project, the city is working with the state on a new roundabout off of Rte. 1A that will provide access to the park without going through the residential neighborhoods.
The Boatworks building will be renovated to include a boat storage facility along with space for a community boating program and event space. The current plan is to remove three walls of the current gabled building but to keep the existing steel structure.
The boat building will also include restrooms both for the community space and for the park itself.
