Mohegan Park in Norwich grows by 85.6 acres
Norwich — The City Council took care of some unfinished paperwork Monday and, by a unanimous vote, expanded Mohegan Park by 85.63 acres.
The council voted to add nine separate vacant parcels, acquired by the city in several transactions dating from 1994 through 2014 with intentions of adding the land to the 360-acre Mohegan Park. But while the council passed resolutions in 2006, 2007 and 2014 to add portions of the open-space land to Mohegan Park, the transactions never were recorded on city maps and land records.
A new map showing the added land gives Mohegan Park an odd shape, with a pointed steeple protruding from the north end, a rounded bump on the western end and another peninsula jutting out to the south.
The largest parcels added were the 30-acre lot on Prentice Lane, donated to the city in 2013 by a Franklin family, a 20-acre piece at 195 Mohegan Park Road along with a 0.7-acre piece at 189 Mohegan Park Road purchased by the city from the Anderson family in 2006, and a 19.3-acre parcel at 49 Orton St. acquired in 2004.
Parcels at 30, 35 and 40 Dartmouth St. and a non-numbered Dartmouth Street parcel totaled a combined 13.09 acres. The final parcel is a 1.72-acre piece on St. Regis Avenue.
Since the city already owns all the parcels, City Manager John Salomone said there would be no loss to the tax rolls by adding them to the park. There also would be no cost, since the city has no plans for improvements, such as park benches, walking trails or other amenities.
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