Anyone who has driven by Seymour Town Hall in the past few weeks may have noticed that it looks a bit different.
In an effort to improve the historic building’s aesthetics, First Selectman Kurt Miller reached out to several local businesses to donate both time and materials to help improve the building’s façade, with minimal cost to the townspeople.
While still in progress, the floral overhaul will be completed in time to properly welcome spring.
Aris Stalis, of Aris Land Studio, a landscape architecture firm in Bridgeport that designed the landscaping for the Chatfield-LoPresti School renovation, donated a unique design that highlights the beauty of the building.
The work began in April, just in time to commemorate National Landscape Architecture Month and is designed to demonstrate the value landscape architecture can add.
For example, most of the plants are native to Connecticut and as such, benefit the local ecosystem.
In creating the design, Stalis said two priorities were selecting plants that change color through the seasons and require very little maintenance. He also was sure to choose plants that require no herbicides or pesticides, which will help eliminate water runoff pollution.
Most importantly, said Stalis, it helps show that “little things contribute in a big way.”
The project drew an impressive amount of donations from a variety of local entrepreneurs and contractors.
Ted Holly and the crew at Ted’s Lawn Care, LLC removed the old plantings and implemented the new design. Chris Falcioni, of Falcioni Painting, pressure-washed the entire building to return the brick façade to a like-new state. Gezim Zuncja of Alberto’s Restaurant & Pizzeria also helped to subsidize the labor costs. Finally, Don DonFrancesco of A & J Irrigation and Brian Tylinski of MJ Daly Plumbing installed a new, efficient irrigation system that will keep the plants healthy without wasting water.
Thanks to the generosity of these local businesses, downtown Seymour got just a little more charming. Shoppers patronizing the Shops at Seymour at the next First Saturday should make sure to walk by and see for themselves.
Of the new plantings, First Selectman Kurt Miller said, “I could not be happier with Town Hall’s new look. We are committed to continually improving Seymour and this project is a great reminder of what hard work and community contribution can achieve. All the credit goes to the Ted, Aris, Don, Gezim, Chris, Brian and their teams for all the help and hard work. Without them, this project would not have been possible.”
