Waterford ― Lee Williams was playing fetch with her 2-year-old Australian Kelpie mix, Winnie, at Seaside State Park on Thursday afternoon ― before the cold snap hit, and after chatting online with fellow Harkness Memorial State Park garden volunteers about the future of Seaside.

“I am just so sad,” Williams said of learning that the buildings are slated to come down. She added, “The longer it sits around, the worse condition it becomes. It’s a beautiful piece of property and an incredible history.”

She would have loved to see Seaside become a resort and recreation area. Williams, who walks there about twice a week, moved to Waterford from Massachusetts two years ago.

But among those who have been deeply involved in advocacy around the former sanatorium for years if not decades, there’s a mix of gratitude, sadness, acquiescence and skepticism over the latest news from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

DEEP on Wednesday announced $7.1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars for a “passive park” design for Seaside. The plan will include “the removal of the deteriorated buildings,” “historic interpretation of the site,” addition of restrooms and walking trails, parking improvements and picnic areas.

Cass Gilbert, the architect who designed the U.S. Supreme Court building and the Woolworth building, designed the buildings at Seaside, which served children with tuberculosis and later people with developmental disabilities before closing in 1996.

For some, news of the demolition ― for which DEEP does not have a timeline ― was not a surprise.

A September newsletter from Friends of Seaside State Park said, “Unfortunately, we know that both the Infirmary Building and the Nurses’ Residence must come down and there is no way to reverse the State’s decision on this.” But DEEP said in a statement in the fall, “DEEP is still in the process of exploring funding options for the park. Demolition of the buildings is one of the options being considered for the park, but the final plan will be dependent on funding levels.”

Seaside neighbor Kathy Jacques, who has spent years opposing commercial development of the property, said the cost was too high and the work too much to save the buildings, and she “had to sit back and wait for people to realize it was the impossible dream.”

DEEP Deputy Commissioner Mason Trumble said the options from the 2016 planning process ranged from $2.8 million to $63.2 million. He said the decision to move forward with the passive park plan was based on cost and feasibility, and that an “overwhelming voice” from the community “was they want DEEP to do something at Seaside State Park.”

Jacques said it’s ironically the buildings that attract people from all over to Seaside ― “the young and the ghosthunters and those things. I met a witch once.” It will be different without the buildings, and she said that’s why there’s so much thoughtful concentration with the Friends of Seaside about how to commemorate the legacy.

“I feel great. I feel at peace right now, for the moment,” Jacques said, after wondering whether former Gov. Dannel Malloy’s 2014 designation of Seaside as a state park could be unraveled. “We seem to be on another path, and I’m trusting DEEP to follow through on that path.”

A recognition over time

The press release Wednesday from DEEP included positive quotes from state park advocates and elected officials, but how did they reach this point?

Friends of Seaside State Park President Helen Post Curry said in the DEEP press release that the group “is working to preserve the story of Seaside and its architectural history” and looks forward to collaborating with DEEP on the park redesign “so that this unique coastal property can be appreciated and enjoyed by all.”

The group announced its formation in 2019 with the stated mission “to protect, promote and enhance the Park’s dynamic coastal habitat, and to preserve its architectural heritage.”

Curry said in 2021 she would fight hardest to save the nurses’ residence but was “realistic about the fact that saving (the larger building) is extremely expensive and problematic.” She said if it couldn’t be maintained, she would at least like to save the footprint as an open pavilion or sunken garden.

Curry said in an email Friday, “As the great granddaughter of the architect, I can only say I am very saddened that a way was not found to save the buildings at Seaside, but I do understand that they have outlived their usefulness and would have been extremely challenging to renovate.”

Trumble said DEEP appreciates the advocacy and support from local organizations who have expressed disappointment about the historic buildings but are also committed to working with the department on future improvements of the park.

Rep. Kathleen McCarty, R-Waterford, said in DEEP’s press release that after many years of advocacy, she is gratified Seaside will receive funding from DEEP to move forward on plans to create a passive state park.

In testimony in February 2021, McCarty wrote that she supports reopening a RFP (request for proposals) process “in another attempt to find a developer with the necessary financial resources to restore and reuse the historic building(s) and for the state to maintain most of the adjacent land as a state park.”

McCarty said Thursday she would have loved to have seen the rehabilitation and maintenance, but structural engineers that went through the buildings in the last couple years said they were at the point where they would be extremely costly to rehabilitate.

“We don’t want to see it sitting there for many more years. It needs to be made safe and enjoyable, and we’ll all come together to see what we can salvage,” McCarty said.

She said there has been talk about integrating some of the historic elements of the buildings into a future design, such as for an outdoor pavilion, and also suggested the possibility of adding educational signage like at Harkness.

“It’s a work in progress, and at least it’s moving, that’s what I’m happy about,” McCarty said. She concluded, “This is one of the most precious, beautiful pieces of land that we have, and I think it is good to have it now to be restored and rehabilitated so it’s there for the future generations.”

Waterford First Selectman Rob Brule said in testimony in February 2021, “The Town is sensitive to the cost of rehabilitating historic structures. A plan to preserve or replicate building facades should be considered in plans moving forward. At a minimum, interpretative signage about Seaside’s history should be included in public spaces.”

Brule said Thursday he was concerned and frustrated when he saw the condition of the buildings continue to deteriorate, and with little federal or state funding, “I kind of took the hands-off approach. It’s up to the state of Connecticut to take on this responsibility.”

Residents are now are asking Brule for a timeline regarding work at Seaside, and he said when DEEP makes a decision, “I do stand ready to support them.”

The comments McCarty and Brule made in 2021 were on a bill former Sen. Paul Formica, R-East Lyme, introduced requiring the state to issue an RFP to “develop or dispose of” the Seaside facility and preserve the adjacent area for a public park.

Formica said Thursday there was always the concern about whether selling Seaside would open the door for other parks to be for sale.

“I don’t think people wanted to set that precedent, but that was a unique situation, and it seems like they found a unique answer,” Formica said. His initial reaction to the funding announcement was, “I think it’s wonderful that the administration is doing something, at long last, after many administrations have ignored it, and it sounds like the plan is a good plan, for restoring that property.”

He thinks “the buildings are too far gone to try to save,” and hopes DEEP can have public hearings and outreach to further explain what they’re going to do.

Formica’s successor in the 20th District, Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, said in the press release, “Rebuilding this park, which has sat dormant for too long, will provide important and beneficial recreational resources for local residents. I’m excited to see the work underway!”

Questions remain

A few people walking at Seaside on Thursday had a variety of questions and hopes for the future of Seaside. A woman who has been walking there daily for seven years brought up the ospreys that nest on top of the buildings.

Kristin Harkness, a New London resident who grew up on Great Neck Road, said she thinks there should be swimming. Asked about her thoughts on the buildings coming down, she commented, “Unfortunately, I think they have to. They’re in such bad shape.”

Others have asked about laws around demolishing historic buildings. Trumble said DEEP will follow processes outlined in the ARPA federal funding guidelines, and that DEEP will be working with the Department of Administrative Services, Department of Economic and Community Development, and State Historic Preservation Office.

Another question is how far $7.1 million will go, and Brule is not sure that’s enough to take down even one building, let alone create bathrooms and parking. But he said that’s on the state of Connecticut to address.

McCarty introduced a bill in January authorizing bonds to renovate Seaside. McCarty said she doesn’t know how far the $7.1 million will stretch, especially since “everything’s so much more costly these days,” so she wants to keep the bill in place “and then monitor where we are.”

Costs have escalated since the 2016 planning process and “the next step is to take the passive park concept and really turn that into a design, and that will enable us to get a better estimate on price,” Trumble said. But he thinks $7.1 million “is a reasonable estimate to get us to the passive park concept.”

ARPA funds must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026.

e.moser@theday.com