Lyman Allyn Park receives planning and zoning stamp of approval in NL
Oct. 21—NEW LONDON — A park is what the founder of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum requested in her will and that is what she is getting 90 years later.
The museum can now transform part of its 12 acre property into Lyman Allyn Park after receiving unanimous support by the Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday.
In her will, founder Harriet Upson Allyn requested her estate money be used for a museum and park. The museum opened in 1932, six years after Allyn died.
Executive Director Sam Quigley and others are working to complete the founder's request.
"We are all very pleased the Planning and Zoning Commission has given us unanimous endorsement for the development plans of the park," Quigley said. "We view this as a privilege and an opportunity to make our museum more of an asset to the community,"
The museum hired Mystic landscape architecture firm Kent + Frost earlier this year to draft a master plan. At Thursday's meeting, Brian Kent, principal of the firm, presented a brief overview to the commission of what the museum proposes to do.
Kent said the property is currently parkland, but with no pedestrian amenities and "afterthought" parking in front of the museum. He said the museum is proposing to reconfigure the site and add amenities and pedestrian pathways and make it all compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"We're restoring the original plan meant for the museum in 1932 and adding a large formal oval green space in front of the museum," Kent said. "We're moving the parking adjacent to Connecticut College's south lot."
Kent added it is taking care of significant storm water issues, a legacy issue related to the development of Route 32 and Connecticut College in the 1970s.
This has resulted in man-made wetlands on the property, which Quigley said will be turned into a "beautiful," filtered pond.
The park is expected to have sculpture gardens, low-impact natural footpaths and pollinator gardens and meadows to create a "safe harbor" for insects and butterflies.
For event purposes, the museum is creating an outside amphitheater that can accommodate up to 250 people. In the master plan, additional parking will be placed near the amphitheater off Williams Street.
Quigley said the museum would like to break ground on the park in the spring of 2023, but that is dependent on a variety of things coming together such as their fundraising efforts and contracting for the work.
