With 80 percent of its $350,000 goal raised for a Heritage Trail plan, Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) has seen substantial progress on a pavilion being built along Glen Road. The space will be the home for a way finding map noting locations on the trail.

The pavilion’s wood frame was raised by Cady Builders, according to SHOP President Michael Burton. SHOP is seeking a metal roof contractor and work is expected to begin on that in the “next week or so,” Burton told The Newtown Bee on July 11.

After that, a stamped concrete slab will be poured for the pavilion floor. A grant to pay for grading and filling the lot before pavement has also been received by the town.

“The goal is to have everything finished in time for our Rocking the Hook concert on September 30,” Burton said. “Sandy Hook businesses have been great about letting us use space, but we want to be able to have it on our own home base now.”

Burton said work is currently on track for that deadline, with the challenge being looking for donations of labor and materials to finish the project.

The Heritage Park & Trail in Sandy Hook is planned to be a community space on a piece of town-owned property. The park will include a pavilion, 30 public parking places, and a green space that extends to the Pootatuck River.

In addition to the donation of labor by Cady Builders, SHOP has to date received donations — in funding, materials, or labor — from Flint Ridge Development for the pavilion structure; Newtown Savings Bank for the pavilion roof; O&G Industries for stone and concrete products; Target Enterprises for concrete forms, rebar and mesh, erosion control and safety fencing; Wes Thompson for site amenities; Newtown Board of Realtors, site amenities; Lenahan Land Clearing, site clearing; Haynes Materials, structural fill; Michael Burton Builders Inc for fill, pavilion excavation and backfill, pavilion foundation work, retaining wall; and LRM Inc, structural fill and site concrete work.

Grants have been received from the State of Connecticut, Town of Newtown, Flint Ridge Development, and Newtown Savings Bank.

Burton said the heritage trail idea involves posting signs along a designated trail through the village center noting the history of important Sandy Hook landmarks as a street museum.

The groundbreaking for the park took place on May 18, officially kicking off the first phase of construction for the project.

Launched in 2015 by Burton and former SHOP President Joe Hemingway, the plan to have a centralized location for the map of landmarks was still missing a pavilion until recently. When the town acquired the property in 2017 for back taxes, SHOP began conversations with town officials in the hope of structuring a lease, which was settled on for $1 per year.

=====

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.