Construction Progressing On New Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center

GREENWICH, CT — Construction continues to progress on the new Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, according to the latest update from the Greenwich Department of Public Works.

All foundation walls and footings have been installed at the site, and crews are progressing through under-slab utility installation, DPW said on Facebook. The erection of building steel is planned to commence during the second half of February. Construction is scheduled to be completed by fall of 2023.

The new civic center will be built on the same footprint. It will be one-story and 35,418-square feet, and include a full-size multi-use gymnasium with roll-out spectator seating; 8,100 square feet of multi-use event space; three 1,000-square-foot activity rooms, two of which will share a partition that can be opened to create a larger room; and other amenities.

The original civic center was built in 1950 as an employee recreation center for Electrolux. The town acquired the building and the 13.22-acre site in 1966.

Greenwich began to develop plans for a building rehabilitation in 2000, but in the years that followed, issues with the facility began to crop up which required immediate repairs.

After exploring existing conditions of the concrete structure, other problems were investigated such as space utilization, functionality and accessibility.

The lack of thermal insulation and air conditioning throughout the building, as well as a deteriorating subterranean plumbing system, have been problems for years.

The town determined that a complete replacement made more sense.

Greenwich residents Steven and Alexandra Cohen donated $5 million last year as part of a naming rights deal for the project. Steven Cohen is a Greenwich resident and owner of the Mets. He's also the founder of Point72 asset management, a hedge fund company headquartered in Stamford.

Greenwich officials and the community broke ground on the new civic center last October. It was originally projected to cost around $21.5 million. The Greenwich Representative Town Meeting then approved an additional $4.04 million for the project last March.

More information on the project, including renderings, can be found on the town of Greenwich website.