In contrast to the developer-inspired growth strategy taking place in the South End of Stamford, the City of Stamford has very carefully planned the 31-acre Mill River Park, over more than 21 years, at a cost of $100 million. The park is currently being developed in phases, in the heart of downtown Stamford, with aspirations of creating a central park for the city with a three-mile greenway along Mill River, connecting the downtown to the Stamford Harbor and the Harbor Place development. Motivation and funding for this park work comes from a critical need for flood management of the Rippowam River in order to protect damages to the City of Stamford from events like the river flooding of 2007.

Mill River Corridor Plan by Sasaki Associates

Plans for the park began over 21 years ago with the Mill River Corridor Plan, a feasibility study by Sasaki Associates. Following up on previous river park plans that were meant to manage flooding issues and provide a greenbelt, the work by Sasaki Associates, which included public engagement in the design process, led to a plan that was broader in scope. The river park design was to act as an environmental resource and a civic gathering place for the city, that would define the area around the river to control and encourage future development.

Regulatory Blueprint for Mill River Park

• The Planning Board amended the Stamford Master Plan
• The Zoning Board created the new zoning district, the Mill River Design District
• The Board of Representatives designated the area for redevelopment
• The Urban Redevelopment Commission adopted a project plan for the district
• The City of Stamford created capital accounts for acquisition of property and park development
  • Some financing from state and federal open space acquisition funding programs
  • Creative zoning trades made to acquire park side properties: added height for property ownership

Removal of the Mill River Dam     

Work on the new park began with adjustments to the Mill River to restore a natural water course that better supports wildlife and improves flood management. Dams had been in place on this stretch of the Rippowam River since the first dam powered a gristmill in 1641, dubbing this stretch of the Rippowam River as Mill River. Numerous mills followed for the purposes of fulling, planning, rolling and working of flax and wool. The current dam was one built in 1922 for the use of the adjacent Diamond Ice Company.  In 2000, the Army Corps of Engineers studied the Mill River for ecosystem restoration under the Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program, and recommended removal of the dam and adjacent concrete walls, dredging of collected sediment, restoration of wetlands, and restoration of natural riverside vegetation.

 

Mill River Park design by Olin Partnership

In 2005, the city hired landscape architects, Olin Partnership, to design the landscape plan and coordinate work with the Army Corps of Engineers. Their design includes naturalized river banks, meadows, lawns, walking and biking paths, and inclusion of a historic 1957 grove of cherry trees. The first phase of the park work, between Main Street and Broad Street, near the downtown, is complete. Characteristic of Olin Partnerships designs, a variety of park activities are provided for: large open lawns for play, quiet smaller spaces with benches for contemplation, rough natural river edges, and more urban designed spaces to tie into the urban landscape. Native vegetation is planted throughout, and the landscape features local boulders recovered from site excavation, and historic stone walls.

Mill River Park today

The park has been a huge success so far, bringing back to utilization an unused public space, and returning to productive life a compromised river. Events in the park are constant: movie nights, children’s programs, yoga classes, music performances, and fairs. The park has an indoor carousel and, just this week, the ice skating rink opened in the park, with a holiday market and pop-up beer garden soon to follow. Most importantly, the park and the river, which formerly divided socio-economic groups in Stamford, now brings the groups together with easy park access from all sides, and free public programs that appeal to all. Future phases will extend the river park to the Stamford Harbor, hopefully bridging other gaps, between the downtown Stamford workers and residents, the new Harbor Point renters and the South End community.

Model for South End planning?

Planning and growth of the Mill River Park has happened over more than 20 years. To get to this point, the city partook in many years of planning, including thoughtful engagement with the public. The formal plan development took place only after inclusion in a comprehensive plan followed by zoning revisions. This path for legal land use changes is in place for a reason, to allow the public to engage in meaningful dialogue about future plans for their towns and cities. Recent development in the South End has followed a different path. Upon acquisition of parcels of land, developers have requested changes of zoning from the city to allow for development. Though the development of a park for flood control and recreation is quite different than commercial development of rental apartment buildings that provide substantial tax revenue to a city, I would argue that the slow process of thoughtful, inclusive planning is a strategy that should be implemented for all forms of development. The citizens in the South End are currently very unhappy about the speed of unchecked development in their community. Had the expansive South End development been included in a comprehensive plan by the city, created through public dialogue, then the neighborhoods would have had a chance to speak out before the cranes were in place, and the design of the new community may have been one that better fits into the broader plans for the city.