Massive Farmington Park's Resurrection Officially Underway

FARMINGTON, CT — Work to reopen a long-dormant park, located in Farmington and New Britain, but owned by the City of Hartford and open to all, officially kicked off Tuesday, April 22.

That's when state and local dignitaries gathered to break ground on the new Batterson Park project, with a September grand opening being eyed.

On Feb. 17, the Farmington Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved a special permit application from the City of Hartford to resurrect and reopen the park, paving the way for Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony.

On hand were Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, Connecticut Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, along with several other state and local officials.

Ritter has been a vocal supporter of the park and its resurrection for several years since it closed in 2015.

Ritter said Tuesday that the road to a reopened park was a massive effort of state and local officials.

"It was a huge team effort with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Hartford, New Britain, Farmington, and my legislative team – especially the delegations from Hartford, Farmington, and New Britain," he said in a statement.

"The state has committed funding for the renovation project, and operation costs will be covered by the state's Passport to Parks program."

The long-abandoned park site is owned by the City of Hartford, but its area covers land in New Britain and Farmington.

The new park, which would be at 96 Batterson Park Road, Farmington, would include a new driveway and parking area, park support buildings, a boardwalk, and picnic areas.

Batterson features a 155-acre pond as part of the 266-acre park, with 80 percent in Farmington and the remaining 20 percent in the City of New Britain.

There is a $7 million plan to reopen the park with a splash pad, picnic pavilions, a kayak/canoe launch, a fishing pier, a bird-watching tower, and a playground/hiking trails.

The new park, however, would not include any public swimming at the park pond.

The park closed in 2015 when the City of Hartford faced financial constraints, harming its ability to staff, maintain, and operate the park, which has fallen into disrepair.

Hartford's difficulty in maintaining what is, essentially, a city park (even though it's not within city boundaries) had state and city officials floating the idea of creating Batterson State Park, putting the recreational site under the purview of the State of Connecticut.

But efforts to do that a year ago failed to garner necessary state approval, leading to an agreement among state, city, and nonprofit sources to operate the facility.

As a result, a deal was arranged to reopen Batterson Park this year under the umbrella of Riverfront Recapture, a Hartford non-profit that manages multiple parks in the greater Hartford region.

With a new chapter started about the park, Ritter discussed a little bit of history about Batterson, given who owns it and where it is located.

"Batterson Park is a bit of a mystery to many people in central Connecticut – a Hartford city park in Farmington and New Britain?" he wrote.

"The lake was originally used as a drinking water reservoir before the Hartford Water Department donated the tract to the Hartford Parks Department in 1928, leading to a park located miles outside the city limits."

From Feb. 19: 'Long-Shuttered Park's Resurrection Approved By Farmington PZC'