Camillo Reveals Vision To Beautify An Area Of Downtown Greenwich
GREENWICH, CT — While the downtown Greenwich area has become more vibrant in recent years, especially with the addition of outdoor dining and events like Free Music Fridays, First Selectman Fred Camillo believes there’s still more work to do.
During Thursday night’s Board of Selectmen meeting, the first primetime gathering for the board in over three years, Camillo spoke briefly about a proposed project of his that aims to enhance and beautify one of Greenwich’s most meaningful areas.
The proposal would add various water features and lighting in front of the old post office, which is now Restoration Hardware, on Greenwich Avenue next to Arch Street.
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Lighting would also be installed to illuminate the World War 1 monument and nearby flagpole. The monument is a 50-foot obelisk that sits in front of Restoration Hardware.
An old water fountain that hasn’t been used in years is already in place.
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Camillo said he recently toured the area with Parks & Recreation Director Joe Siciliano and has already discussed the idea with John Conte, a landscape architect and volunteer in town who has voiced support for initial design work.
“It’s beautiful now,” Camillo told Patch Friday, “but to have something lit up at night and to have some waterworks there that are also lit up, would draw even more attention to it. Our downtown area, it’s become so vibrant in the last few years that we think there’s still plenty of opportunity to enhance that even more and to highlight areas that have a lot of meaning.”
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He stressed the monuments in the area would not be touched or encroached upon at all, and he likened the illumination to how Washington, D.C.’s monuments come alive at night.
Camillo also said he’s reached out to the town’s sustainability committee to see if they’d be interested in helping implement solar power into the project.
The cost of the proposed project is not yet known, but Camillo said it “won’t be cheap.”
Camillo first ran for office on a platform in 2019 that focused on securing public/private partnerships in order to get projects done around town. He’s now seeking a third term in November with several such projects under his belt.
“There had only been a few [public/private partnerships] before that over the years, but now we’ve turned a corner. People seem to be very accepting of it, and the town is, which is great. We’re proud of that,” Camillo said.
Notably, the town secured a $5 million donation in 2021 in a naming rights deal with the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation for the new Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center.
Camillo said he hopes to have a rendering of the project to share with the public in the next two weeks. There will be plenty of opportunities for feedback and input from the community before any plans are finalized, he said.
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