Group plans to redesign controversial Mystic boathouse
Mystic — It's back to the drawing board for the Friends of Stonington Crew.
The organization, which is raising money to build a boathouse in the proposed Mystic River Boathouse Park, has decided to scrap its initial design and is seeking to hire a new architect that will incorporate a historic home on the site as part of the boathouse. Last fall, a large group of residents had criticized the design as too modern and not in keeping with the historic maritime character of Mystic.
The town, which has purchased the property and plans to develop the park where the boathouse will be located, had wanted to demolish a home and an adjacent garage on the site, but the state Historic Preservation Office has said the town must preserve the home, which is part of the Rossie Velvet Mill Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mike O’Neill, who is the director of rowing for the Friends of Stonington Crew and vice chairman of the Mystic River Boathouse Park Implementation Committee, said Tuesday the Friends group hopes to hold a public meeting this summer to unveil the new design for a boathouse that will incorporate the house. He said the new design will be more in keeping with the character of the town and residents' expectations.
O’Neill said the original design was driven by zoning and flood plain regulations and a desire to efficiently serve the needs of the Stonington High School and community rowing programs while limiting the building coverage to preserve the most land possible for the park.
Because the two buildings would have been torn down, O’Neill said the original design was envisioned to pay homage to the industrial building across the street, which now houses Mystic Seaport Museum’s Collection Research Center.
O’Neill said the new design would likely entail moving the house to another portion of the property and constructing an addition to it, which would take up more of the lot than the original design. The eventual plan will have to be approved by state historic officials. The town has also hired a historic design expert to help with the process.
O’Neill said the new boathouse design will mean the overall master plan for the park will have to be updated.
The firm that came up with the original boathouse design, Anmahian Winton of Boston, will not be working on the new plan, as O'Neill said the friends group will instead be seeking a firm with experience with the adaptive reuse of historic buildings and a familiarity working with state historic officials.
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