Betty Little Arts Park set for 2021 completion

PLATTSBURGH | Components of the City of Plattsburgh's Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) are slowly but surely being pieced together. Heading north on downtown Plattsburgh's Margaret Street, new street signs and banners can be seen hanging from city lamp posts as seasonally-festive decorations once again grace the soon-to-be snow-covered streets. Turn right on Court Street, and take another right onto City Hall Place heading toward Durkee Street, and passersby will see a massive new overhead mural of Plattsburgh-born astronaut Michael Anderson painted on the northernmost side of the Westelcom Building. The Outside Art: Plattsburgh Public Art Project was installed by artist Brendon Palmer-Angell in mid-October. Palmer-Angell is also responsible for the Jean Arthur mural at the corner of Brinkerhoff Street and Marion Street several blocks over. Below the Michael Anderson mural is the future site of the Betty Little Arts Park and "arts corridor," connecting Margaret Street to Durkee Street, unanimously named after the senator set to retire at the end of December. Preliminary construction of the park, part of the DRI, is moving forward, though it was on hold back in July. A new bid process took place this fall, allowing the City of Plattsburgh's Common Council to procure some lower project pricing than that inflated by the pandemic. Luck Bros. broke ground in late October, reports say, to work on a necessary sanitary sewer replacement project at the cost of $160,838.00 -- the lowest bid price, according to a common council agenda from July. The three-tiered park "reimagines the [Westelcom Park] space to include a plaza with seating, an improved accessible walkway, a central water feature, landscaping, new lighting, and locations for sculpture by local artists," says saratogaassociates.com, the official website of the design firm bringing the spot to life. Bid specifications say work will begin on the park in April 2021, to be completed in September. While the Outdoor Art project is a volunteer endeavour not associated with the DRI, the combined ongoing art projects and new Arts Park have created a flourishing community corridor in the downtown area.

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Betty Little Arts Park set for 2021 completion

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