Pittsfield Commission Sees Plans for $15M Rebuild of Wahconah Park
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| On Tuesday, the Parks Commission saw plans for a $15 million rebuild of the historic-but-condemned grandstand. |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Tuesday, the Parks Commission saw plans for a $15 million rebuild of the historic-but-condemned grandstand.
The project team hopes to begin construction in July, after the original 1919 structure is demolished.
The new, half-cost design for Wahconah Park places the bathrooms and concessions in elevated, standalone buildings beside the grandstand.
"We think this is a fair redesign for a very complicated site and a reduced budget in an environment of escalating building costs," Parks, Open Space, and Natural Resources Manager James McGrath said.
The new design decouples the bathrooms and concessions into smaller buildings elevated about five feet to meet the 100-year floodplain. An accessible ramp and porch would lead to the structures, and the grandstand would have a slightly narrower footprint.
If begun this summer, construction would be complete in the spring of 2027.
This grandstand is estimated to accommodate 1,100 people with benches and fixed seats, as well as an additional 700 in bleachers on either side. Shaving down the capacity saved costs in plumbing, as the number of bathrooms is directly tied to the number of fixed seats.
It was noted that continuing the well-received beer garden is a priority.
"All in," including demolition and planning costs, the price tag is estimated at $17.5 million. Costs are reportedly tracking lower, and another estimate will be done.
The city has been allocated a total of $5 million in capital and federal dollars for the project, and McGrath reported that Mayor Peter Marchetti is comfortable with a $15 million capital authorization, pending community conversation and City Council approval.
"What you're looking at is a very reduced scope of a project. The building has been very reduced, but the challenges with the floodplain still exist and are still very real," McGrath said.
The scaled-down grandstand design does not include locker rooms or office space. It was suggested that the Pittsfield Suns could bring in temporary structures for those uses, but there would have to be utility hookups on-site.
It does clean up the parking lot and mitigate flooding, though floods will always occur to some degree because of the park's location.
"I think the priority here is to get something up and running so that we can actually play ball there. And is it going to be what everybody envisioned right from the get-go? Sounds like it won't be, but if you get people out there playing, we can go and be fans of spectator stuff," Commissioner Simon Muil said.
"That puts us way ahead of where we were this past summer."
In December, the commission accepted a negotiating rights agreement between the city and the longtime summer collegiate baseball team, the Pittsfield Suns. It solidifies that the two will work together when the historic ballpark is renovated.
McGrath reported that the Suns have expressed the desire to remain in Pittsfield.
"I think the Suns are understanding of the city's need to scale the project, and I think the Suns are committed to working with the good, modern facility that we present at Wahconah Park," he said.
"…The Suns do their best work on the field, and if we can provide a site experience in a secure location, a safe location, I think that's gonna be best for everyone."
The commission also saw an update on the upcoming temporary ice skating rink that will be situated in front of the ballpark. It is expected to be installed next week, and remain for six or seven weeks as an open skating rink.
In the future, the city will look to add programming and skate rentals to the rink.
Tags: Wahconah Park,
