GREENWICH, CT — Bruce Park, one of Greenwich’s crown jewels, will be protected in perpetuity following a vote by the Representative Town Meeting to designate it as a historic property.
The RTM voted 176-4-1 on Oct. 28 to grant the designation.
The designation will maintain the historic nature of the park and protect it against future development. Any future change to a “contributing structure or factor” on the 48-acre property must receive a certificate of appropriateness from the Greenwich Historic District Commission (HDC).
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The local historic designation process was lengthy.
It kicked off in January 2022 when the Board of Selectmen voted to appoint the HDC to examine and study the components and merits of the park for the designation.
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The idea for the designation came about after the town briefly thought about expanding the old “mosquito barn” on the eastern side of Bruce Park to facilitate the possible move of the Parks and Recreation building out of Roger Sherman Baldwin Park.
Residents were concerned about the idea that could change the park, so they reached out to Camillo.
Camillo assured the residents that Parks & Rec. operations would not be moved there. Since the town had always tried to protect Bruce Park, Camillo suggested seeking a local historic property designation.
Another impetus for the designation came after Eversource looked to install overhead power lines through Bruce Park in 2015. A compromise, which drew pushback, resulted in the lines being installed across a new green footbridge.
“This was a grassroots effort, led by the residents in the Bruce Park and Mead’s Point neighborhoods. When they came to see me a few years ago with a concern about what was going to happen with the mosquito barn in the park, I suggested that we go one step further and protect the whole park and not just the barn and they really liked that idea and got to work on it with the town,” Camillo told Patch this week. “It was a team effort and great assistance was provided by Steve Bishop and Andrew Melillo of the HDC. Bruce Park, one of Greenwich’s crown jewels, will be forever protected from development due to this effort.”
Bruce Park is the oldest public park in Greenwich, having been built in 1908 through a bequest of Robert Moffat Bruce, a cotton magnate and philanthropist.
From 1908 to 1958, the park was established and its major physical features were constructed, which included ponds, roadways and recreational facilities. In those years, Greenwich added granite curbstones and various plantings to enhance the visual appeal of the property.
In the past, the park has been nominated for “Best City Park” in the country by USA Today and their 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards.
Bishop spoke briefly before the RTM vote on Oct. 28.
“[The park] was donated by Mr Bruce in 1908, and he put a huge amount of work into making this park. It didn’t just happen like that. He made it that way and he spent a lot of money to do that. I think we really need to honor that and protect it in the future,” Bishop said, noting the previous approvals for the designation from various town bodies.
“Everybody thinks this will be a great thing for this park, and we’ll continue to enjoy it for a long, long time,” Bishop said. “Forever, hopefully.”
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