Norwalk park now open

By Nancy Guenther Chapman

NORWALK, Conn. – A newly improved vantage point of the Norwalk River is now available for your perusal.

The barriers preventing entry to Oyster Shell Park via North Water Street came down about two weeks ago, Department of Parks and Recreation Director Mike Mocciae said. The renovation work, which began about a year ago, is 98 percent complete, said Tim Sheehan, executive director of the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.

“I suggest you take a walk through because it’s pretty impressive,” Sheehan said to members of the Common Council Planning Committee Thursday.

The plan to regrade the hill at the park’s high point, create an open plaza and install landscaping and lighting was laid out in Phase 1 of the park’s master plan. The plan was implemented by LaRosa Building Group, using $1.423 million of a State of Connecticut Special Act grant. It was part of a $20 million allocation for infrastructure improvement to the Reed Putnam Urban Renewal Area, $375,000 in Department of Energy and Environmental Protection funding and Community Block Grant funding.

City Capital Budget funds were not used to create the master plan, site improvements bid documents or construction.