Park & Rec Wants Dibs

On Plymouth Hall

By Steve Bigham

The Parks & Recreation Commission is staking claim to Plymouth Hall at Fairfield Hills, saying the huge building will play a key role in the future of recreation and other services in Newtown.

“We want Plymouth for Parks & Recreation. That’s a position we have always taken,” said P&R Chairman Larry Haskel. “I realize it is coupled with the town’s decision to purchase Fairfield Hills. That’s out of our control. We just want to say that if the town buys Fairfield Hills, we need to hold on to that building. If it doesn’t buy it, it’s a moot point. I would like us to buy it outright.”

And as Mr Haskel points out, Plymouth Hall represents much more than just space for Parks & Rec. It is big enough to be used as a multi-generation community center and a consolidated site for many Parks & Recreation indoor programs. The two-story building has plenty of space – 52,270 square feet – and could house the teen center, the senior center, and youth services. The sale of the existing senior center on Riverside Road and the Teen Center on Church Hill Road would provide money to renovate and refurbish Plymouth Hall, Mr Haskel said. There has also been talk that an outside party may be interested in putting up the money for the purchase of the building.

Plymouth Hall once served as the recreational facility for the hospital’s residents and staff. It comes complete with gymnasium, auditorium, bowling alley, canteen, music room, and numerous rooms for arts and crafts. Several kilns still remain in the building.

The Parks & Recreation Commission took up the issue of Plymouth Hall at its March 13 meeting. Members agreed that a public meeting should be held – possibly at Plymouth Hall (complete with tour) – to determine public interest.

“I think we have to raise an awareness to what Plymouth Hall is. We need more of a direct focus on the advantages of having the town own and run a rejuvenated Plymouth Hall as opposed to that facility being used for any other purpose. It is an ideal facility as community facility,” Mr Haskell said.

Parks & Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian sees Plymouth Hall providing residents with the kind of recreational facility never before seen in this town. Her department often receives calls from new residents who are surprised by the lack of municipal recreation facilities in Newtown.

“Plymouth Hall would serve more members of the community. We would be able to offer more varied programs. We wouldn’t have to rely totally on schools for our space. We could offer daytime and nighttime programs with no worries about cancellations,” Mrs Kasbarian said last year.

Currently, Parks & Recreation relies nearly 100 percent on the schools for program locations. Often, programs are cancelled due to school activities, which take precedence. Mrs Kasbarian says Plymouth Hall would allow Parks & Recreation to expand its current list of programs and hold them all in-house. In addition, she said, the facility could provide residents with treadmills, free weights, bikes, rowers, etc.

The estimated cost to realize Plymouth Hall as a multi-purpose municipal building would be $4.3 million. That cost includes $3.8 million for renovations and upgrades, $270,000 for asbestos and lead abatement, and $169,000 for parking lot construction. The cost to purchase Fairfield Hills from the state is $5.5 million “as is.”