Western Connecticut State University has expressed interest in acquiring a portion of Ives Concert Park from the city of Danbury.
At issue are a pair of properties controlled by the city within the approximately 40-acre park ”“ one of which is 1.01 acres and the other encompassing about 17,000 square feet.
“If the university takes possession of that acre, it would make it easier for us to plan future improvements,” WestConn spokesperson Paul Steinmetz told the Business Journal. “At the moment, we have nothing planned other than some potential concerts by students during good weather.”
Steinmetz noted that the quasi-municipal agency overseeing the park, the Charles Ives Authority for the Performing Arts, is in the process of being disbanded.
“The economics of bringing in big acts has changed over the years, which made the park unprofitable,” he said. “We were kind of tangential to that. We do hope to make it more vibrant in the long term.”
Last month, Mayor Joe Cavo sent a letter to the Danbury City Council encouraging it to consider transferring or selling the site to the school, “(g)iven that there appears to be little need for the property to remain in the ownership of the City of Danbury, and because the site is immediately adjacent to the WCSU.”
