By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — A $1.5-million reconstruction project for the downtown Baldwin Lot was approved by the Board of Finance Wednesday night.

Centered in the heart of downtown, east of Elm Street, the parking lot accommodates more than 250 cars. It’s a patchwork of tired, graying asphalt, with uneven terrain, spotty striping and weeds volunteering through the cracks.

That will change when construction begins sometime after the holiday season, with the board approving a $1,492,000 appropriation for the work.

“It hasn’t been touched, except for patching, in probably about 40 years,” Public Works Director Peter A. Ratkiewich said after the unanimous vote at Town Hall. “It’s well beyond its useful life at this point.”

The new lot should have an estimated useful life of 30 years.

The existing lot does not conform to zoning regulations, Ratkiewich said

“It’s got drainage problems,” he said. “Layout problems, structural problems.”

Upgrades will include raising the lower portions of the lot, which lie within the 25-year-flood zone, by two feet; a new storm drain system to replace the existing one, which does not work correctly; a new layout that will conform to today’s zoning standards; blue light security stations; security cameras; more efficient LED street lights; electric car charging stations; and, of course, all-new asphalt.

There will be a net loss of a few spaces, Ratkiewich said, because of the reconfiguration and the need to have larger aisle widths.

He said, however, that there will be more spots outside of what is now the flooding zone.

Photos of partially submerged cars in the lower portion of the lot were included in the meeting documents.

The lot is named for Herbert Baldwin, an apple grower, longtime state representative and state senator who served 10 years as first selectman. He was first elected first selectman in 1957. He died in July 1990 at the age of 96.

The Baldwin Lot is the largest municipal parking area downtown, followed by the Parker Harding Plaza.

Documents accompanying the request for funding state that the refurbishment project was first proposed in 1998.

For several years the town has been in discussions with the owner of the adjacent Avery Lot, which is private, in the hopes of possibly merging the two lots together, but little progress has been made.

The Avery Lot is situated off Avery Place, just north of the Baldwin Lot, behind the Chase Bank and other stores at the top of Main Street.

The Board of Finance approved the funding with a 6-0 vote, with one board member, Andrea L. Moore, absent.

Last Friday, July 31, the board did a site visit to the lot, where Ratkiewich shared details about the problems and solution regarding the lot.

Ratkiewich said he hopes to put the project out to bid around November.

Work won’t start before the new year, late February or early March, he said, because the downtown holiday season has to be avoided, but he hopes to see the project completed before summer.