The Millbrook Town Council voted 5–2 on Tuesday night to approve the final design for Riverfront Commons, ending a debate that has run through three budget cycles and more than forty public meetings.
The approved plan turns eleven acres of former industrial land between Water Street and the Mill Creek confluence into a public park with a boat launch, a half-mile paved loop, two playgrounds and a seasonal amphitheater. Construction is scheduled to begin in March, with the first phase opening in late 2027.
What changed in the final design
The version approved Tuesday is noticeably smaller than the one the council reviewed last spring. Gone are the parking structure on the north end and the year-round pavilion, both of which drew objections from Water Street residents who argued they would wall off the river and push traffic onto residential blocks.
- A surface lot with 60 spaces replaces the proposed 210-space garage
- The amphitheater is now seasonal and capped at 400 seats
- A continuous public path along the water was written in as a requirement, not an option
- Two acres at the creek mouth are set aside as an unlandscaped flood buffer
We did not get this right the first time, and we did not get it right the second time either. What passed tonight is a plan the neighborhood helped draw.
Council member Ana Reyes, chair of the design committee
Reyes and council member David Okonkwo were the plan’s most consistent supporters through two rounds of revisions. Voting against were Tom Halloran and Priya Menon, who both said the reduced parking will simply move cars onto Water and Elm streets on summer weekends.
“I want this park,” Menon said before the vote. “I do not want to spend the next four years apologizing to people on Elm Street for it.”
What it costs, and what is not funded
The town will pay for the first phase with $4.2 million from the 2027 capital budget and a $2.8 million state open-space grant Millbrook was awarded in June. A second phase — the amphitheater, the eastern trail extension and a footbridge over the creek — remains unfunded and would need a separate council vote.
Public comment on construction staging opens October 1. Public Works says a full construction schedule, including street closures on Water Street, will be posted before the end of the year.