This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
12/10/2024 10:43 AMEight months after the iconic Little Red Shack on Grass Island collapsed, town officials have received much-needed funds to help restore and renovate.
Town officials gathered at Guilford Marina on Dec. 6 for a check presentation that will restore and repair the famed structure whose supports collapsed sometime in the overnight or early morning hours of April 11 and 12. At the time, First Selectman Matt Hoey speculated that recent high winds and a lunar tide had played a factor. Following the collapse, residents and local businesses rallied to fundraise for repairs. In May, the Guilford Foundation teamed up with the Guilford Preservation Alliance for the Save the Shack Challenge Grant with a $75,000 fundraising goal, the estimated cost to repair the structure. In the immediate aftermath of the collapse, the Foundation had raised more than $19,000.
“It’s so great when we can come together to celebrate such a tremendous job done by so many people in the town,” Hoey said. “There are so many people to thank for this great project.”
Concerns about the future of the Grass Island Shack had been growing for some time before the April collapse. During the summer of 2023, it had reported that the shack was in grave danger due to rising sea levels at the Guilford Marina and that it would take a major project to help bring back an artifact that has been a part of this town for many years.
On March 6, Guilford Town Engineer Janice Plaziak presented the site plan and coastal site plan review for relocation of the iconic shack with the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission at its regular meeting. The plan, as presented, was unanimously approved.
The minutes of that meeting say, “Significant erosion has occurred on Grass Island due to severe storms over the past year. At high tide, the shack becomes submerged in water. Town Engineer Janice Plaziak shared that she has developed the plan with DEEP and Coastal Engineers. They considered bringing in sand but ultimately decided on a more long-term solution due to the impacts of waves and erosion in this area.”
That plan called for moving the shack back by 45 feet, adding new pilings designed to withstand storms and erosion. An earlier plan called for moving the shack back 90 feet, but during a storm in January 2024, town officials observed that the entire island was flooded “except for the rear of where the shack currently stands.”
“A recent erosion study by FEMA shows that this area is subject to quite a lot of erosion, as its forecasted with sea-level rise in the future. The goal is to preserve this iconic monument for the town,” the minutes say.
After deliberation about who would be able to work on the project's construction, longtime Guilford and now Madison resident Mike Donofrio of East Guilford COnstruction stepped up to the challenge.
“People were talking about how much it would cost to do this project,” Donofrio said. “We just thought we’d do it. It was a cool experience being able to work on something that I looked at so often when I was a kid living in Guilford, and I got to do this with my sons, which made it just that more special.”
Construction of the shack is in its final stages, with the structure set to be back and up for the upcoming spring.