A series of recreational buildings to be erected at Burr’s Hill Park has been reanimated and re-awarded to a new company after the last iteration of the project folded following various concerns regarding the contractor that was originally awarded the bid back in October of 2021.

The project was unanimously awarded to Blank Construction Co. of Warren by the Town Council during their meeting last week, for an estimated price of $474,980 that will be funded through a state DEM grant awarded to the town back in 2019.

Parks and Recreation Director Tara Thibaudeau said on Monday that the project was going to largely mirror the project that got to the final planning stages under the initially chosen contractor, Addaspace, consisting of a concession stand, a bathroom facility split into three sections (a men’s room, a women’s room, and an ADA-compliant family room), a storage facility for recreational equipment, and an office building for recreational staff to work from.

The biggest difference, she said, would be that the buildings would not be fabricated from repurposed shipping containers, as Addaspace had originally proposed and which faced harsh scrutiny from residents of the town.

“It’s the same plan that has been discussed thoroughly over the course of the last year and a half,” Thibaudeau said. “Blank Construction will be taking on the project and mirroring all of the last vendor had committed to in terms of size and location and the footprints. It’s different only because it’s not going to be a container, and it’s going to be built on site.”

Thibaudeau said that the project will now go into an engineering phase, and once that is completed the company will begin site work. She said they have given a time estimate of about 15 weeks from the planning phase to the project being completed.

“If Mother Nature cooperates, it will be ready for the summer program,” she said, which begins on June 26.

The rough design of the structures can be seen in the images accompanying this story, which show a pitched roof structure for the buildings and an exterior finish that strives to look like cedar shingles, more in line with what residents requested of Addaspace in the round of community meetings that followed their initial presentation.

Addaspace’s stewardship of the project was abruptly halted in September of last year when it was revealed they had a suspended business license and that they did not adequately fulfill bidding requirements when they initially took the project on back in 2021. The town went back to bid and received two submissions, one from Blank Construction and another from Trans Global. Blank was chosen because they had submitted a complete plan from start to finish and a full estimate in terms of the proposed cost.

Thibaudeau also said that the structures being built at Burr’s Hill by Blank Construction will not be designed to be mobile, which was a point of confusion among the proposal put forth by Addaspace.

“They are not designed to be moved,” she said. “They are designed to stay there.”

Thibaudeau said that the concession stand will be staffed by recreational department personnel during camp season and during recreation events such as the summer concert series, and volunteers will be able to utilize it during other programming, such as sporting events that take place at the park. She said no outside vendor will be contracted to run the stand.

Asked how she felt about the progression of the project, Thibaudeau said she felt a mix of excitement and relief.

“Relief is probably my biggest thought, and excitement to finally see this become a reality,” she said. “It’s been a long process. It’s going to make it so much better, make it safer, make it better for parents and staff. It’s moving us to the next level.”