Ceremonial shovels went into the ground Oct. 7, but construction of a new Eastern Greenwich Civic Center in Connecticut will not begin in earnest until next year.
Work is ongoing at the site, though, as the final demolition work is nearing completion, the Greenwich Time reported. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Luigi Romano, the town's superintendent of construction and maintenance, said he hoped work on the foundation could take place later this year.
"The building is just about demolished," Romano told the Greenwich news source. "There are a couple of areas where we have some steel on the side, and that's all being recycled. We're working on the final portions of the basement that are now coming out. Once that's out, we're going to clean the site a little bit more and start preparing for the foundations for the new building."
Given the unpredictable winter weather likely ahead, Romano said it was "really hard to forecast" when the foundation work would be done.
"We're going to be working on this all next year coming out of winter," he added. "When the weather is warm enough for people to be walking past this again, they're going to see a lot of changes more quickly. The building will start taking shape. It's very exciting."
When work on the new one-story facility does get under way, it will be built on the footprint of the demolished older building. The plan is to complete the new 35,418-sq.-ft. civic center by the fall of 2023.
It will include a full-size multiuse gymnasium with rollout spectator seating, 8,100 sq. ft. of multiuse event space, and three 1,000-sq.-ft. activity rooms, two of which will share a partition that can be opened to create a larger room.
Civic Center to Be Named for Local Couple
In addition to Greenwich First Selectman Fred Camillo and project donors Steve and Alexandra Cohen, nearly 30 people were on hand for the groundbreaking for the new civic center. Among the others were Connecticut State Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-150th District (which includes the civic center), and his Republican opponent in November's election, Ed Lopez, according to the Time.
The groundbreaking ceremony was hailed as a "very good day for Greenwich" by town resident Gary Dell'Abate, who co-chaired the committee that got the new civic center project going after decades of discussion and planning.
"This was why I wanted to be on the board of Parks and Recreation," he said. "This project was my passion. There were many before me who tried hard, and their work was important to getting this done. My kids grew up playing here and roller skating here. My wife taught art classes to grammar school students here. I spent many hours here coaching, shooting hoops, and even attending the occasional charity event."
Camillo thanked the Cohens, residents of Greenwich, for their contribution that he said "got us off on the right foot" in fundraising. Their foundation donated $5 million as part of a public/private partnership on the building, which is expected to cost a little more than $25 million, the Greenwich news source reported.
In his remarks at the groundbreaking, Camillo called the Cohens "the anchors" of the private fundraising in town.
When completed, the building will be named the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center after the couple, who own the New York Mets. Their contribution was enough to get Camillo, a lifelong New York Yankees fan, to wear a Mets cap throughout the ceremony.
Cohen Civic Center Will Create New Memories
Greenwich resident Coline Jenkins brought a 1951 edition of the Time newspaper to the groundbreaking that hailed "a new landmark" in Old Greenwich: the creation of a building that eventually became the now-departed civic center.
Then known as the Eckman Center, it was constructed in 1950 as a recreation facility for Electrolux employees and their families.
Elizabeth Menegon, a New York City resident, came to the event because her grandfather, Frank Zint, who began working for Electrolux in 1932 by cutting grass there before working his way up to be the factory's director of maintenance, formed the Electrolux Employee Association that pushed for the building's creation.
Starting in 1954, the Eckman Center was opened for use by the town and for the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other organizations. Eventually, Greenwich took over the building and turned into a community civic center.
Its demolition was bittersweet for Menegon and her family, who hope residents will remember the old building and share stories about it.
"We were heartbroken because we have so many great memories here," she told the Time, recalling the many activities that she did there, from camping to roller skating. "Somebody asked me how my grandfather would feel if he saw the building torn down, and I think he would have felt awful because it was a beautiful building. But he also understood progress. Progress is change and change is progress."
Camillo shared similar sentiments.
"We all have memories here of what went on," he said. "Whether it was basketball leagues or Babe Ruth drafts, reunions, graduations, political conventions, rollerblading — you name it. But the new civic center will have just as many great memories [and] in a much better venue."
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