by Irene Wrenner

August 14, 2020

​

​

​

It’s not often that a blank slate in a busy downtown corridor becomes available to imagine a dreamscape.

 

Village residents have just that opportunity Saturday at a collaborative process to harness the talents and energies of the community to create a vision and a plan for a pocket park in front of the Firebird Cafe at 1 Main Street. 

​

This property was purchased by the Village Trustees with $60,000 of Economic Development funds  in mid-January from Gabe Handy. Since then, grant funds were sought to help turn this brownfield into a greenspace where folks might congregate amidst the hubbub of downtown Essex.

​

At least a foot of contaminated soil would need removal from across the site if the asphalt were to be replaced with plantings. 

​

Originally, the Trustees hoped to leverage their ties to the Vermont Nursery and Landscapers Association to provide plants and labor to rehabilitate the space. It remains to be seen which, if any landscaping team will be hired and when their work would begin.