Center Street Marketplace Park. Photo courtesy Rutland Redevelopment Authority.
Vermont Business Magazine Rutland City’s Center Street Marketplace Park will officially open to the public on Tuesday, August 7th, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new park's completion. The Ceremony will be attended by US Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development Deputy Secretary Ted Brady, Rutland City Mayor David Allaire, Recreation and Parks Director Kim Peters, as well a state and local stakeholders and residents. The construction of the City Park, located in the heart of Downtown Rutland, was recently completed and following the ceremony the site will be open for public use and enjoyment.
The Center Street Marketplace initiative began almost a decade ago as part of the City’s Creative Economy efforts to revitalize downtown. Building off this grass-roots effort, substantial federal funding was secured with the assistance of Senator Patrick Leahy in 2010. Considerable planning work followed with several design iterations leading eventually to the current design plan. Engineering firm Stantec served as the project’s engineer throughout the process and John Turner Consulting has served as the project’s resident engineer during the construction phase. In the spring of 2017 Parker Excavation of Fair Haven, Vermont was awarded the construction contract and work at the site began in July, 2017.
Rutland City Mayor David Allaire said, “We are all very excited to have this new park now ready for public use. The project has endured a number of challenges, but in true Rutland fashion, with collaboration of many public and private stakeholders, we have overcome these obstacles and now have a wonderful new park in the center of our downtown which will serve locals and visitors for years to come.”
The new park will be managed and maintained by the Rutland City Recreation and Parks Department and will provide an area for year-round passive recreational activities as well as hosting events and activities serving the Rutland community. “The new venue will provide a welcome urban green space for the community. We look forward to working with other local entities like the Downtown Rutland Partnership to develop events, activities and programing in the future” said Rutland City Recreation and Parks Director, Kim Peters. The park design will allow flexibility for hosting public and private events as well as the normal daily use.
Along with the almost $1 million in federal funding initially secured by Senator Leahy additional public and private financial commitments were made in the early part of 2017 which allowed the project to proceed to construction. Municipal commitments came from Rutland City and the Rutland Redevelopment Authority, with private funds being committed from the Rotary Club of Rutland and Rutland Blooms. The project also received a grant from the Agency of Commerce and Community Development to help pay for the lighting component of the project.
Brennan Duffy, Executive Director of the Rutland Redevelopment Authority, served as the project manager for the final construction phase of the project. He stated, “With the construction now complete we look forward to opening the park for use next week. Substantial effort has gone into this project over the course of its design and construction, as well as patience and encouragement from the neighboring abutters and City stakeholders, so it is very rewarding to see the final results of all that persistence and hard work.”
The official ribbon-cutting event will occur on Tuesday, August 7th at 12pm. The Center Street Marketplace Park’s main entrance is located at 53 Washington Street, directly across from Rutland City Hall. There are also entrance points from Center Street, Merchants Row and Wales Street.
Source: Rutland Redevelopment Authorit. Rutland City, Vermont – July 31, 2018