Town officials last week agreed to enter into an approximately $40,000 contract with a New Canaan-based design firm to help convert a structure in Waveny Park into a year-round bathroom facility.
The potting shed at Waveny. Credit: Michael Dinan
The “potting shed” at Waveny is located next to the Powerhouse Theatre, down the hill from forecourt of the main house.
The building has been “used for storage for a long time,” New Canaan Buildings Superintendent Bill Oestmann told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held Aug. 3 at Town Hall.
“It suffered a couple of issues last year where the floor gave way and we had to do a little interior demolition on it,” Oestmann said. “So the goal is to do some repairs, renovations to it and make a four-season bathroom so we have a location for that.”
Local landscape architect Keith Simpson has advocated for years to convert the shed into a bathroom for Waveny visitors.
First Selectman Kevin Moyinhan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 to approve a $39,900 contract with the Architectural Preservation Studio for design, construction drawings and bidding documents.
The selectman asked whether funds for the project are already in the budget (yes), whether the actual cost for renovating the shed will follow from the project design (yes) and where the Studio is located (here in New Canaan, with offices in New York City also).