Ground broken for Derby’s Payden Park and Field House
By Michael P. Mayko
DERBY — Derby has a new athletics angel.
It was 1999 when Andy Cota said the first discussion about improving the city’s sports facilities came up.“All the politicians, all the chairmen, all of the people on the boards tried for years and years to move forward with the project,” recalled Cota, the former police chief who nows heads Parks and Recreation. Instead, it lingered until 2013, when Superintendent of Schools Matthew Conway arrived. Conway, a former state representative, was able to secure $2.9 million in state funding. But that was only enough to build a field for track meets and line the football field with artificial turf. The old single story clubhouse —the one former Corporation Counsel Jamie Cohen says looks the same as when he was a student 53 years ago— remained. That last stumbling block to improvement changed slightly more than a year ago with a chance phone call from an alumna with the interest and money to help things along Joan Payden, chief executive officer, president and founder of Payden and Rygel, a $110 billion asset management firm with offices in the U.S. and overseas, was speaking with High School Principal Martin Pascale After learning that the clubhouse was dropped from the project, Payden opened her checkbook—first for $2 million for the clubhouse then another $2 million for the entire project which includes a new baseball and girl’s softball field.
On Monday, the city broke ground on the state-of-the art J.R. Payden Field House set on a hill between the football and new baseball field.
The field house is named for Joseph R. Payden, Payden’s father and a 1915 Derby High baseball player and valedictorian. After high school, the senior Payden graduated from Yale, flew missions in World War I for the Royal Flying Corps and became CEO of Union Carbide Java in Indonesia.
Nearly 60 people watched as Conway, Cota, State Reps. Linda Gentile and Themis Klarides and others put shovels figuratively into dirt.“My father was an only child,” said Joan Payden, hooked up via statellite from her Los Angeles office. “The high school meant a great deal to him.”
Designed by Peter de Bretteville the field house will stand two stories with outside porches allowing views of the baseball field on one side and the football field on the other. Inside will be the traditional locker rooms and offices laong with a banquet hall and memorabilia room.“You have no idea what this means to me,” Joan Payden said. “My only regret is I’m 3,000 miles away.”
Payden, who said she will be in Derby in few months, has kept on top of the project through her cousin, Meg Lampazzi of Oxford.“I don’t think I’ve met a group of people that came together that are dedicated ... bright ... committed ...You are top on my list,” Payden said. “This is the most exciting thing I’ve really ever done in my life... Now when is the building going to get built?”Conway said the old clubhouse will be demolished in May. Renovation of the football field and construction of a track field will follow.“The football field should be ready by Sept. 28,” Conway said.
Meanwhile, construction of the field house, baseball and softball field should begin around the same time and be completed next year There’s a certain blood that flows through this community,” said Cota. “One phone call ... and Joan Payden opened her heart up to us.”
DOT To Present Updated Route 9 Plans Thursday In Middletown
Shawn R. Beals
The state Department of Transportation has adjusted its proposal to remove the dreaded traffic lights on Route 9 in Middletown, and is presenting the plans to the public Thursday night.
Modifications include an off-ramp onto Rapallo Avenue in the North End and eliminating one of two proposed elevated highway sections that would have blocked some views of the river.
The DOT first announced the Route 9 project in June 2016 as a way to make the highway safer and reduce congestion. The plan has long included removal of two sets of traffic lights on Route 9 that force 65-mph traffic to come to a standstill.
Residents can learn more about the plans at an informational meeting Thursday at 7 p.m. at Middletown High School, 200 LaRosa Lane. DOT Principal Engineer William Britnell said the design will cut down substantially on the traffic backups that occur on downtown Middletown’s streets.
State and local officials have been discussing removal of the Route 9 traffic lights for years, but the latest effort appears to be the best hope yet of addressing the long-standing nuisance.
Under DOT’s proposal, access to Main Street from Route 9 south will be at Hartford Avenue and the existing Exit 14 onto deKoven Drive.
From the northbound lanes, drivers will access Main Street via the new off-ramp onto Rapallo Avenue
Drivers will be able to enter Route 9 north from a reconfigured intersection at Hartford Avenue, and will be able to head south from deKoven Drive near Washington Street and from Hartford Avenue.
“This is really all a result of just listening to what people had to say and addressing those concerns,” Britnell said.The plan includes a host of changes to Main Street intersections that are intended to make vehicle and pedestrian travel easier. Washington and Main and St. John’s Square in the North End would be reconfigured.
“It’s just very difficult to get through there, and for people who want to run a business in that area Route 9 is one of the only ways to get there,” Britnell said. “It’s really a regional impact beyond Middletown, but Middletown sees a lot of benefits, right now people just are not able to easily get into and out of the city.”
The plan also reinstates a local access to Miller and Bridge streets through a closed-off railroad crossing that can be reconfigured, Britnell said. Residents who live on those two streets have to cross Route 9 as the only access to their neighborhood.
“One of the things that really scared us is when we heard about and saw school buses coming out of Miller Street,” he said.
Mayor Daniel Drew said DOT’s new plan is a vast improvement from the first presentation in 2016.
“The plan they are presenting to the public this week is a direct result of the commentary they’ve received from the public since the summer of 2016,” Drew said.
Changes to traffic patterns that reduce congestion on Route 9 and in the city’s commercial core will benefit commuters and city residents, Drew said.
“In the long term this is going to help the business community, allow us to continue to grow and improve our quality of life,” Drew said.
One group of business leaders, the Downtown Business District, remains skeptical of the plans. Diane Gervais, owner of Amato’s Toy & Hobby, said the organization’s board believes the plan improves traffic flow on Route 9 at the expense of Main Street merchants.
“The proposal to alter Main Street and the North End to accommodate the removal of the lights on Route 9 puts an unfair burden on the businesses and residents of Middletown,” Gervais said in a statement. “Both the construction period and the final product would do substantial damage to the access to our downtown, with negative effects for our business owners and the livelihoods of our employees, as well as our ability to contribute to our town's grand list and property taxes.”
The Downtown Business District is an independent business group separate from the local chamber of commerce. Gervais said the group is worried the Route 9 changes will increase gridlock on Main Street as people try to get through the downtown area.
But Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce President Larry McHugh said the majority of business owners are receptive to the plan because it addresses the troublesome traffic lights.
“This chamber has always been in support of the lights being removed from Route 9 and maintaining access to downtown,” McHugh said.
He said DOT has been “exceptional” in responding to questions from city residents and business owners. The plans will continue to improve as the state collects more feedback, he said.
Britnell said on DOT’s current schedule, Main Street work could start in 2019, and construction on Route 9 could start in 2020.
A project description and renderings are available at www.ct.gov/dot.