A gallery of photos from the grand opening of the Guilford Information Kiosk. To view enlarged images, double-click on the first image, then use right arrows to proceed through the gallery. To return to the page, click the X in the top right corner.
By Web Editor
By Web Editor
The Visitors Information Kiosk is one step closer. A groundbreaking was held this week with plans for completion by early fall. L to R: Greg Makula, Hanler Construction; Shirley Girioni, President of GPA, Russ Campaigne, architect; and Joseph Mazza, First Selectman. Missing from the photo are: Boynton Schmitt, benefactor; Frank DePino, MediaBoom, and Jim Portley, Guilford Public Works.
By Web Editor
The Guilford Preservation Alliance received two new grants at the end of 2014. The first was a grant to survey historic buildings, a grant in the amount of $30,000 from the State Department of Economic and Community Development, State Historic Preservation Office to add an additional 200 historic structures to the 450 buildings in 1981 State of CTH Historic Resources Inventory for the Town of Guilford. This grant will provide funds for architectural historians to identify and inventory historic buildings, produce a survey, including photographs, and give a public presentation on the project. The inventory will be helpful in recognizing, protecting and preserving these valuable resources.
The architectural historians hired by GPA to do this survey are Kristen Nietering, a Guilford native, and Jordan Sorenson, of New London, CT. Both have a passion for local history, and knowledge and experience in writing Historic Resource inventories, as well as National and State Register nominations. Ms. Nietering has worked as Project Manager for Historic Barns of CT and is currently project manager for the Creative Places Project. Ms. Sorenson works at the CT Trust for Historic Preservation as membership and office manager, and has experience as a consultant doing historic building research and inventories, as well as National Register nominations.
Shirley Girioni, president of GPA said that “The completed inventory will further protect our architectural heritage by forming the basis for the delay of demolition ordinance created by the Town of Guilford.”
This project is expected to be completed near the end of May, 2015. The Historic Resources Inventory and Supplement can be viewed here on our website.
The second grant was a Connecticut Humanities grant for $15,000 to support the building of a visitor information center kiosk and the development of the computer programming. The kiosk and its interactive virtual information center is the next step in the Heritage Tourism Initiative. It will provide information to tourists and residents and encourage their exploration of the town’s historic, cultural, and natural resources. The center, a modular structure that will be located adjacent to the Green Community Center, is scheduled to be built this fall 2015, and plans are to have it installed and operational by the following spring.
By Web Editor
On May 30th, State Representative Patricia M. Widlitz (D-Guilford, Branford), a member of the State Bond Commission, announced that the Guilford Preservation Alliance is in line to receive a state grant of $60,000 from the Bond Commission to assist in the building of the new Interactive Information Kiosk. Widlitz stated that, “I strongly believe in this project and have been supportive of the efforts of the GPA and its partners in their efforts to develop heritage tourism in Guilford.”
In addition to the Bond Commission grant, the GPA is funding the project with a generous individual donation from the Schmitt family and a grant from Connecticut Humanities. Part of the cost of the project will be to develop the interactive virtual information center. Media Boom, a local web developer, will be retained to create the website that will allow visitors and residents to access information about cultural events, historic sites, and natural resources.
The Interactive Information Kiosk is the next step in a five year strategic development plan of the Heritage Tourism Initiative, which began three years ago with the award-winning Historic Guilford Walking Tours. The goal of the Heritage Tourism Initiative is to increase economic growth and development through tourism that highlights Guilford’s unique historic, cultural, and natural resources as well as supporting local businesses such as restaurants and shops. The idea for the kiosk came out of focus groups and workshops with local non-profits and businesses held over the last few years. The proposed building will serve as an information center to visitors and locals about activities, events, and businesses. It is hoped that Guilford’s story will be shared with a wider audience.
Russell Campaigne, of local firm CK Architects, has designed the Kiosk which will be located on town owned land adjacent to the Greene Community Center. It will be a modular unit of a design that complements the style of the Community Center, and will have an interactive computer. The Kiosk will be staffed by volunteers five days a week from May to September. Construction is slated for Fall 2015, and the project has gained approval from the appropriate town boards and agencies.
For further information visit www.guilfordpreservation.org
By Web Editor
GPA Supports Small Businesses: During the Week of May 12 – 19 the Guilford non-profit community is thanking all Guilford small businesses for the support they give to events and causes all year long. Each organization is asking their supporters to show their appreciation by shopping local and letting businesses know how grateful they are for their support. They can also share locally by giving their feedback on a GoodStreets member business profile. GoodStreets businesses want to hear from you!
By Web Editor
Guilford Preservation Alliance (GPA), a non-profit organization, received a grant for $14,300 from Connecticut Humanities (CTH) to enhance visitor experience that will include the story of Guilford’s rich history and culture. The grant enables the GPA to gather insights from residents about what they consider to be Guilford’s most important stories to share with visitors. They will offer several forums to the community, and then through group discussions, develop plans for a visitor kiosk and interpretive signage.
Dr. Nancy Morgan, a heritage development consultant, will facilitate meetings to be held in September, including a Community Forum, a Student Forum, and two focus groups. At these meetings residents will discuss what they consider to be Guilford’s most important historical stories and what resources they would like to share with visitors.
Shirley Girioni, a co-chair of the Tourism Initiative said, “This grant will allow us to move forward in the planning of our project to welcome and inform visitors about our nearly 375 year history on the Connecticut shoreline. It demonstrates that the CTH has confidence in our vision for the development of heritage tourism in Guilford. We are deeply grateful for their financial support and encouragement.”
In 2011, GPA began the Guilford Heritage Tourism Initiative which recognized that the town’s wealth of historic, cultural, and natural resources as well as amenities such as shopping, dining, and visitation, could be focused to increase economic impact through tourism. In 2012, GPA unveiled the Historic Guilford Walking Tours, which attracted over 300 tour-goers its first year. The Heritage Tourism co-chairs, Shirley Girioni and Rob Vavasour, have worked to build strong partnerships with organizations and agencies throughout the town and state, and have worked together to set goals for the future of the initiative.
By Web Editor
On April 3, the Planning and Zoning Commission held public hearings on the electronic LED billboard issue (to which we alerted you earlier) and the Town Center South zoning overlay district. [Read more…]
By Web Editor
A column by Howard Brown, widely acclaimed environmental and management consultant and GPA board member.
Preservation and Change.
I often hear people say that nothing ever changes around here. When I moved to Guilford in 1970, there was one traffic light. Route 1 was a rural road through open fields and woods. Most of the houses along the shoreline were uninsulated summer cottages. The population was about 8,000 and an acre of land was about $8000. Many of the houses in the center of town were in need of repair.
We often forget how many of the things we take for granted in our daily lives are actually new. The Connecticut Turnpike (now I-95) was only completed in 1958. Before that auto access to this town was all via Route 1, which more resembled Rt. 146 than its present incarnation with shoulders and modern lanes. Even into the 1950’s, many houses in town still didn’t have decent plumbing. For the residents of what is now the Griswold House, electricity was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Perhaps, most significantly, when I moved to the town in 1970, there was still very little public interest in municipal government and very little citizen involvement in town affairs. From an economic point of view, in 1970, Guilford was largely rural, just on the verge of a growth spurt that would change its character.
For all of the change and new prosperity, Guilford has managed to avoid many of the negative affects that befell towns along the I-95 corridor. Active citizenry helped channel development in relatively constructive ways, and that helped preserve and protect many of the community’s assets. Now, as the national economy has begun to slowly recover from a deep recession, and as development pressure spreads east from New York along I-95, the people of Guilford need to make new choices about what kind of town we want to live in, and how to channel the powerful economic forces of development in constructive ways to achieve our goals.
Local Economies and Responsible Development
Preservation and economic development are actually two sides of the same coin. In fact, historic and environmental preservalition are often key drivers of a healthy local economy. The term sustainable development, which has increasingly become a goal of communities across the country, is often defined as meeting the needs of the today’s citizens without compromising future generations’ capacity to meet their needs. This is an underlying principle of GPA’s work.
Effective economic development is about enhancing the the economic and social wellbeing of the people in a community by building an economy that is robust and can stay healthy even during booms and busts of larger economic cycles. Economists who study local economies look for many indicators of health and success. They tend to look beyond the common assumptions about commercial real estate development to understand what makes some communities thrive while others struggle with cycles of rising costs, rising taxes, declining municipal services and declining property values. One thing is clear, the towns that are the most attractive places to visit and live are neither hostile to development nor indifferent to their uniqueness. The communities that most people consider desirable are the ones with the wisdom to embrace yet channel development to enhance their uniqueness.
More than half of Guilford’s households have settled here since 1970. Most moved here from other places because the unique rural and historic village character of the town is still intact. GPA believes that the healthiest economic development should stem from policies and programs that build on the strengths that make Guilford a special and desirable place, rather than activities that make it more like every other place.
Guilford’s historic architecture and landscapes, its charming town center, its quintessential New England coastline, its farms and rolling hills in the north, and its extraordinary ecological diversity, are all features that contribute to its uniqueness. Though Guilford is geographically one of the largest towns in CT, nearly 18 of its 50 square miles are now protected open space with a growing network of nature trails and resources. It also has a blend of small retail shops, growing small businesses, and a burgeoning regional medical services and technology sector. We are the only town in Connecticut with two important highways (146 and 77) designated by the State as Scenic Roads. All of these assets represent important opportunities to encourage low impact tourism, and expand the health- and medical-related business environment.
Over the years, the GPA has helped preserve our architectural heritage—by securing national and regional recognition for it—and has worked to support open space preservation and protect small farms and local businesses. In the coming year, we will be using this site to share more information about our economic development initiatives, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas.
Howard Brown
GPA Board member
By Web Editor
On our website we intend to feature rotating columns by local preservation experts who will be addressing some of the more urgent, current issues involving development in our town–encouraging economic development that both supports the town’s existing businesses and is consistent with the long-term interests of the community. The GPA advocates development opportunities that provide the greatest economic benefits for Guilford with the least overall costs and impacts on the character of the community.