Residents Ask for Preservation of Wahconah Park's Hometown Feel
PITTSFIELD, Mass.— When it comes to the redesign of Wahconah Park, residents would like to see the historic baseball facility's charm and hometown feel preserved.
Last week, the public spoke about their wishes for the park during a hearing with the project team.
Parks Commissioner Simon Muil said he is not much of a baseball fan but loves going to Wahconah Park because it "feels how a baseball game should." He pointed out that it feels very Americana and is "a little rough around the edges," and asked that the new facility keeps the same vibe.
"I will say as somebody who's taken visitors through the Berkshires to Wahconah Park, everybody loves it," Muil explained. "In fact, this is what a baseball should be all about whether you play baseball or not so I think we should try and keep that."
Another resident said he would love to see wood used for the new structure, as the sound of people walking by and the smell of the wood are part of the memories he has of the park.
It is still not determined if the project will be a renovation, rebuild, or a mixture of both.
Before the public hearing, project designers S3 Design Inc. gave a quick look at possible layouts and field orientations to the Wahconah Park Restoration Committee. There is currently a sun delay due to the direction of the field and the team provided options for rotating the facility to avoid it.
Many residents spoke in favor of the sun delay, pointing out that it is part of the experience at the park and a time to get concessions, which is smart for business. There was also much support for a natural grass field over artificial turf, with attendees answering "natural grass" when asked if they favored either option.
"What if I told you that if you did artificial turf, the field can be used 365 days a year," principal architect Salvatore Canciello said, explaining that it could be used for youth sports or other events.
He said most collegiate stadiums and Division 1 schools have chosen artificial turf to extend the use of the field in New England weather.
Ward 4 Councilor Jim Conant said the current state of Wahconah Park is disappointing.
"I really feel that the grandstand, the bathrooms, the concessions should all be demolished," he said. "They are just beyond repairs. There's no question about it."
Conant, along with other residents, said the grandstand doesn't need to be any larger.
He also spoke to the sun delay, calling it the "greatest happening of the whole park" and pointing out that rotating the field in the 100-year floodplain would be almost impossible for permitting and expensive.
"How about let's make the part welcoming again? Let's make it homey," a resident who is in favor of a complete rebuild said.
"Everybody used to love it's smell, when you come in down to the [Pittsfield Cubs] and you smell the footlong hot dogs in your face and they hit you in the face of the top of Weller Avenue. You don't get that smell anymore."
Another attendee wished for the design to be a meeting of old and new.
The city is embarking on a $10 to $15 million reimagining of Wahconah Park that is so far supported by a $2 million capital appropriation from the past fiscal year and a $3 million earmark grant.
The owner's project manager Skanska USA anticipates the design being complete by February or March of next year and bidding and work by August 2024 after the Pittsfield Sun's season. This would result in a new ballpark that is open for use by the summer of 2025.
S3 Design aims to deliver a plan at the end of August after a summer of gathering input.
There will be two more workshops scheduled. The first occurred at the park with the restoration committee in May.
Other considerations in the design are flood solutions and options for providing additional uses and revenue generators to the park.
"Whatever shape it takes in the end, we hope as a community that this project will spur additional neighborhood improvement, community improvement, across our downtown," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath said.
"And Wahconah Park really is an anchor to our downtown. It's the northerly anchor, whereas we have the Colonial Theatre on the southerly end so if we look at our downtown as a linear, planned neighborhood, Wahconah Park has extreme value in our downtown so we hope that, through this investment, and this is not going to be inexpensive, we hope that this investment spurs additional investment in the neighborhood in our downtown and we really think that Wahconah Park can be a catalyst for that so it's not an isolated project.
"It's one that I think will create pride and will spur investment and that's what we all want and hope for."
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