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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260919T100000
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SUMMARY:Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Opens a New Stretch of the River to the Public
DESCRIPTION:Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony celebrates the opening of a project nearly a decade in the making on Saturday\, September 19\, transforming a former industrial brownfield into a new public waterfront park\, community rowing center\, and permanent home for Stonington High School Crew. \nThe ceremony runs from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 123 Greenmanville Avenue\, just north of Mystic Seaport Museum. \nBut this is much bigger than a ribbon-cutting for another small town park. \nThe roughly 1.5-acre property includes new public access to a portion of the upper Mystic River where much of the shoreline has historically been privately owned. It also incorporates the Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\, rowing and public-access docks\, a pedestrian launch for non-motorized watercraft\, ADA-accessible waterfront features\, a living shoreline and recreational space. \nAnd getting it built took about 10 years. \nIt Started With a Vote in 2016\nStonington residents approved the project at a town meeting in 2016\, authorizing the purchase of the Greenmanville Avenue property. \nThe location was attractive for an obvious reason. \nIt sits directly on the Mystic River. \nBut underneath that waterfront property was a much more complicated story. \nThe peninsula had been shaped during Mystic’s industrial era\, in part through deposits of coal slag and other industrial material associated with the neighboring Rossie Velvet Mill. \nThat meant the town wasn’t simply buying an empty waterfront lot and turning it into grass and docks. \nEnvironmental remediation had to come first. \nIn 2021\, Stonington secured a $753\,889 state grant to help remediate the contaminated property. \nThat was only one of the obstacles. \nThen There Was a Historic House That Couldn’t Simply Be Demolished\nSitting on the property was another complication: the Lovelace House. \nBecause the house was located within a historic district\, plans had to accommodate its preservation rather than simply removing it. \nThe State Historic Preservation Office became involved\, and Stonington Community Rowing committed to helping relocate and rehabilitate the building as part of the overall project. \nThe house had to be incorporated into a substantially larger plan that was already trying to balance a public park\, environmental cleanup\, shoreline restoration and a modern rowing facility. \nThere were also objections to an earlier boathouse design. \nPlans were revised. \nPermits were needed from state agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. \nCosts rose. \nAnd the years accumulated. \nBy 2025\, the Price Had Reached About $5.3 Million\nBy the time construction was finally ready to move forward in 2025\, the overall project had grown to approximately $5.3 million. \nFunding came together through a combination of state and federal grants\, town funding and private fundraising associated with Stonington Community Rowing. \nStonington had assembled roughly $4.9 million for the public portion before the Board of Finance approved an additional $400\,000 in June 2025. \nThat finally cleared one of the project’s last major financial obstacles. \nConstruction began later that year. \nThe September 19 ribbon cutting is the other end of that story. \nThe New Park Gives Mystic Something Surprisingly Rare: More Public River Access\nMystic is defined by its river. \nThat doesn’t necessarily mean it’s easy to reach the water. \nLarge portions of the Mystic River shoreline are occupied by private homes\, businesses\, marinas and other properties. \nThe new Mystic River Boathouse Park creates another publicly accessible piece of waterfront north of Mystic Seaport Museum. \nThe park includes lawn and landscaped areas\, waterfront access and ADA-accessible coastal walkways. \nMore importantly for people who want to get onto the river rather than simply look at it\, the project includes a pedestrian boat ramp\, access piers and floating docks. \nThe public launch is intended for non-motorized personal watercraft\, opening another access point for activities such as kayaking and paddling. \nThat’s one of the reasons town officials have consistently described the project as more than a rowing facility. \nThe rowing program occupies an important part of the property. \nThe park belongs to the public. \nThe Shoreline Itself Is Part of the Project\nLook closely at the water’s edge and another piece of the project emerges. \nInstead of treating the riverbank solely as infrastructure\, designers incorporated a living shoreline using natural materials\, native vegetation and tidal-wetland enhancements. \nLiving shorelines can help stabilize waterfront property while maintaining or improving habitat and allowing the edge of the land to behave more naturally than a continuous hardened seawall. \nThe Mystic project includes tidal-wetland enhancements and shoreline sills as part of that approach. \nRACE Coastal Engineering also designed the project’s piers\, gangways\, rowing docks and pedestrian boat ramp. \nEven the way the floating docks are secured reflects the needs of rowers. \nRather than conventional pilings that could interfere with long racing shells and oars\, the docks use helix-style moorings and elastomeric lines that move with the changing tide. \nIt’s an unusually technical detail for a public park. \nBut this isn’t an ordinary park. \nStonington Crew Finally Gets a Home\nFor the Stonington High School rowing program\, September 19 represents something even bigger. \nThe program has existed for nearly three decades without a permanent facility of its own. \nFor approximately 20 years\, Mystic Seaport Museum hosted Stonington Crew\, allowing generations of students to train and launch from museum property. \nThe new facility changes that. \nStonington Community Rowing will operate from the Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\, giving the high school program a permanent home while expanding rowing opportunities beyond the school team. \nThe boathouse includes two bays for shells\, oars\, coach boats and other equipment. \nUpstairs is a roughly 4\,500-square-foot training center with rowing machines and strength-training equipment. \nThe broader plan calls for rowing opportunities for youth and adults at different experience levels\, including recreational\, competitive and adaptive rowing. \nJim Dietz Is One of American Rowing’s Major Figures\nThe name on the rowing center isn’t ceremonial window dressing. \nJim Dietz is one of the most accomplished figures in American rowing. \nDietz represented the United States at three Olympic Games as a rower\, competed internationally for years and later built a long coaching career. \nHis rowing résumé includes numerous national championships and international competitions\, and he became closely associated with southeastern Connecticut rowing. \nNaming the community rowing center for Dietz connects the new facility with a much larger American rowing tradition. \nMembers of the Dietz family are expected to participate in Saturday’s celebration. \nHart Perry’s Name Carries Its Own Rowing History\nThe boathouse is named for another towering figure in the sport. \nHart Perry spent decades as executive director of the National Rowing Foundation and became one of the best-known administrators and advocates in American rowing. \nHe was also deeply connected to Mystic. \nPerry helped establish and develop rowing activity associated with Mystic Seaport and played a central role in the growth of the Coastweeks Regatta\, which became a fixture on the Mystic River. \nMembers of the Perry family are also expected at Saturday’s opening. \nPutting the names Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse together therefore says something about the ambitions for the facility. \nIt’s a community boathouse with unusually deep connections to the history of American rowing. \nThe Coastweeks Regatta Has Already Come Home\nThere’s an especially nice piece of timing surrounding the ribbon cutting. \nJust six days earlier\, on September 13\, the 29th Coastweeks Regatta returned to the Mystic River. \nThe race had previously been hosted by Mystic Seaport Museum and became one of the early head races of the fall rowing calendar. \nFor its return in 2026\, Stonington Community Rowing hosted the regatta from the new Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse. \nThe approximately 2-kilometer course began upriver and finished near the new boathouse park and Delamar Mystic. \nSo although the ceremonial ribbon isn’t cut until September 19\, the new rowing facility has already begun doing exactly what its supporters spent years trying to make possible. \nBoats are back on the river. \nThe Plan Extends Beyond Rowing\nThe project’s organizers have consistently envisioned the property as a community resource rather than a private rowing compound. \nStonington Community Rowing has identified partnerships with Stonington Recreation\, Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and Mystic Seaport Museum as avenues for expanding programming. \nThat could bring marine science education\, health and recreation activities and other programs onto the property in addition to rowing. \nThe town has similarly discussed using nonprofit partnerships to expand river access for children\, families and residents from different backgrounds. \nThat’s significant because a new boathouse alone would primarily benefit people who row. \nA public waterfront park can serve everyone else too. \nSomeone can launch a kayak. \nSomeone can walk down to the river. \nSomeone can sit on the lawn. \nA child can learn something about the estuary. \nSomeone who has lived in Stonington for decades but never had a reason to enter a rowing facility can simply use the waterfront. \nSaturday Celebrates the People Who Kept It Alive\nThe ribbon cutting is being organized with Stonington Community Rowing\, the Town of Stonington and the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. \nThe Dietz and Perry families are expected to join members of the Stonington community for the ceremony. \nThat feels appropriate for a project that survived environmental problems\, preservation requirements\, redesigns\, permitting\, funding gaps\, rising construction costs and nearly a decade between public approval and completion. \nThere is one important parking instruction for Saturday. \nVisitors may park behind the Rossie Mill or in Mystic Seaport Museum’s North Parking Lot. \nOrganizers specifically ask attendees not to use Velvet Lane. \nThen walk down toward the river. \nAfter ten years\, there’s finally a park waiting there. \nDetails\nEvent: Mystic River Boathouse Park Ribbon Cutting Ceremony\nDate: Saturday\, September 19\, 2026\nTime: 10–11:30 a.m.\nLocation: Mystic River Boathouse Park\nAddress: 125 – 129 Greenmanville Avenue\, Mystic\, CT 06355\nHosts/Partners: Stonington Community Rowing\, Town of Stonington and Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce\nFeatured Facilities: Jim Dietz Rowing Center and Hart Perry Boathouse\nPark Features: Public waterfront access\, lawn and landscaped areas\, ADA-accessible waterfront features\, living shoreline\, rowing docks\, access piers and pedestrian launch for non-motorized watercraft\nParking: Available behind Rossie Mill and at the Mystic Seaport Museum North Parking Lot\nImportant: Do not park on Velvet Lane\nAdmission: No admission charge is listed for the public ribbon-cutting ceremony\nCeremony: Members of the Dietz and Perry families and the Stonington community are invited to participate in the opening celebration \nMore information is available at the Event Website link below. \n  \n  \nFeatured image is an artistic representation inspired by the event and may not depict the actual people\, location\, or activities shown.
URL:https://thectbeacon.com/event/mystic-river-boathouse-park-ribbon-cutting-opens-a-new-stretch-of-the-river-to-the-public/
LOCATION:Mystic River Boathouse Park\, 125 - 129 Greenmanville Avenue\, Mystic\, 06355\, United States
CATEGORIES:Mystic River Boathouse Park
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