29 December 2022
By Göran R Buckhorn
John Thornell, Girls Head Coach for the Stonington Crew and Director of Rowing, Stonington Community Rowing, Inc. (SCRI), contacted HTBS to give an end-of-the-year report about the Hart Perry Boathouse, the Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Mystic River Boathouse Park on the Stonington side of Mystic.
Thornell gave the following bullet points of what have been done during 2022:
- Early in the year, the Town of Stonington hired environmental engineering firm AECOM to oversee the environmental remediation of the property.
- In May, we announced the naming of the Jim Dietz Rowing Center. Jim is an icon in the rowing world and passionate about making the sport available to everyone. His involvement has injected a fair bit of excitement about the project!
- The Town extended its contract with Kent + Frost landscape architects who has updated the park master plan, including the living shoreline, and has been facilitating the permitting required from the state.
- After retaining Phase Zero Design architects, we unveiled new renderings of the boathouse and rowing center in a public meeting in August. The new designs were received well.
- You can view the latest on the boathouse page of our website.
- In September, Stonington residents voted 279 to 8 in favor of a 25-year renewable lease between the Town of Stonington and Stonington Community Rowing, Inc. After we raise funds and build the $2.5 million rowing center, we will donate the facility to and lease it back from the Town.
- In November, the Town selected First Water Engineering to oversee the coastal engineering and permitting of the park, including the living shoreline.
- Also in November, we accepted a proposal from Custom Float Services to design and install the 134-foot long, low-profile AccuDock rowing docks.
- This month [December], we will hire South County Post & Beam, who will be responsible for the timber-frame construction of the boathouse.
Thornell also writes that SCRI has raised more than half of the $2.5 million needed to build the rowing center and boathouse. Of course, anyone is welcome to help by donating funds to the rowing center and boathouse. (There is still time to squeeze in a tax-deductible donation before the end of the year!)
If you are interested in donating, please contact John Thornell, by calling him at 860-389-2770.
Please also visit the website of SCRI to watch a short video titled Exciting Plans for the North End of the Mystic Seaport. In addition to what the Museum’s plans will offer the community, it will complement the boathouse park and rowing center to create a wonderful entrance to downtown Mystic.
Updates on next year’s progress will be published on the SCRI web site and on their Facebook page.