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08/09/2016 04:30 PMAfter years as an afterthought, just out of sight from the Green, the Whitfield/Water Street parking lot was renovated earlier this summer. To officially mark the completion of the new lot, local and state officials gathered on Aug. 2 for a ribbon cutting.
The parking lot project had struggled and failed to get off the ground for years due to a lack of funding, but was made possible by a $446,000 grant from the state, awarded in fall 2015. The project included repaving the lot and installing sidewalks, lighting, and a center rotary.
Economic Development Coordinator Brian McGlone said this had been a desired project of the town for some time and he was pleased to see it finally completed.
“We really viewed this as an investment in our community,” he said. “Maybe you don’t think about parking, you sort of take it for granted, but without adequate parking, efficient parking, safe parking, you can’t have businesses thrive.”
The project took a few months to plan and complete once funding was acquired. First Selectman Joe Mazza thanked all those who had been involved with the project.
“Construction is never an easy thing—there is always dust and disturbance—but everyone, particularly the merchants and the landlords of this area, have really cooperated with the Town of Guilford to help this project come to fruition,” he said. “All and all it came together because this was a cooperative project between the Town of Guilford and the state. This is what happens when private industry and government come together.”
State officials including Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, State Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr. (D-12), and State Representative Sean Scanlon (D-98), who attendees said was instrumental in obtaining funding for the project, also attended the ribbon cutting.
Scanlon, who grew up in Guilford, said he was glad to see the renovation completed after years of deterioration. He said this project is a good example of how local and state officials can work together.
“In this crazy climate that we live in today with this presidential election, I think a lot of people look at that and say nothing can get done and I want everyone to know that this parking lot is an example of what can get done when people from different parties and different levels of government come together collaboratively to work on something that matters for the community that you represent,” he said. “This is what government should be about.”
Kennedy said the new parking lot is an asset to the downtown area.
“The Guilford Green is an incredible jewel,” he said. “When I speak to local businesses, they say, ‘Let’s try and make the Green more active.’ This is exactly the kind of economic development project I think will help this town thrive into the future.”