By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Remodeling and rejuvenating a 168-acre park is a multi-million dollar project that could take nearly a decade to complete. With a conceptual plan to do just that at Longshore Club Park — recently approved by the Parks and Recreation Commission after months of review — it’s now the job of the engineering firm managing the project to put together its final report. 

“I think we’ve addressed most of people’s desires and wants, not drastically overhauling Longshore,” said David Floyd, the commission chairman, of the March approval. “We’re providing a full facility — full pickleball and paddle courts and a much nicer clubhouse for the golfing community.”

As currently envisioned, the entire project would take about eight years to complete, he said, and the specifics will be reviewed by other town departments and boards throughout. “Other [town] departments have to weigh in,” he said. “It’s not like we’re putting a tennis court in our backyard.”

The final report of the engineering/consulting firm Santec, of New Haven, should be voted on by the commission in April or May, Floyd said.

Timeline for pickleball, golf projects debated

Disagreement about the project has focused mainly on the location and amenities of the proposed golf clubhouse. There also has been tension between those who love pickleball and golfers as the plan has been reviewed at public meetings, open houses and surveys over the course of more than a year.

Golfers have favored a new clubhouse, preferably with a grill and water views, to be built as soon as possible, and pickleball players say they are in dire need of more courts to play the rapidly growing sport. 

But for various financial and logistical reasons, both can’t be accomplished at the same time.

Even at the March 15 meeting where the commissioners approved the conceptual plan for the Longshore Capital Improvement Plan, a second vote — including a construction schedule and funding for each project — was opposed by two commission members who wanted the golf clubhouse moved up in the project timetable.

Those commissioners didn’t like the scheduled construction of the clubhouse in the fourth year or later of the project, echoing comments made by many golfers during the earlier planning process. 

New pickleball courts and a pavilion are scheduled to be built in the project’s second year.

Commission members Chrissy O’Keeffe and Elaine Whitney voted against the proposed schedule for the project, although the project timeline won approval by a 3-2 vote.

“The big thing that I wanted to propose and explore is the possibility of moving some of the design part of the project up,” Whitney said. “Things that are far out — the clubhouse, in particular — I would like to see some of the design move up forward.”

Of the 440 golfers responding to a survey about the project, “a big majority voted to prioritize the clubhouse moved up into year two or three,” according to Jane Dalley, chairwoman of the Golf Advisory Committee, who commented at the March 15 meeting.

Lacking ‘bandwidth’ to do it all at once

However, Parks and Recreation Director Jennifer Fava said that pickleball and platform tennis facilities are sorely lacking at Longshore, and that her department also has other projects in its 10-year plan that must be considered.

“I understand where you are going with this … the concern I have is bandwidth,” she said of tackling several features of the plan in a shorter timeframe. “We also need to realize that this is not the only thing that is happening.”

Fava added that both platform and pickleball facilities “are really lacking … We’ve had years that platform tennis doesn’t have facilities, not real courts.”

Commission member Alec Stevens agreed. “The courts are what we don’t have,” he said. “I know how passionately [golfers] want this clubhouse but it’s still an amenity; it has nothing to do with playing golf.”

Site for new golf clubhouse favored

Although golfers and golf advocates were disappointed with the adopted schedule for building a new clubhouse, they generally support the location approved by the commission — Option 2, locating the new clubhouse in approximately the same area where it now stands. 

Other portions of the Longshore Capital Improvement Plan once again were explained by Gary Sorge, of Santec, as he has over “the 14 stakeholders meetings and five open houses” during public review of the plan, Floyd said.

In addition to the Parks and Recreation Commission’s decision to accept the conceptual plan for remodeling the park, the future of the Inn at Longshore Inn in the park also was determined recently. 

A 30-year lease, including $8 million in renovations, was approved last month by the Board of Selectwomen with Longshore Hospitality Group, a partner of Delamar Hotels.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist and journalism teacher for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman newspaper for 10 years and teaches journalism at Southern Connecticut State University.