Portsmouth, Aquidneck Land Trust acquire future waterfront park site

AN AERIAL VIEW of the future Mount Hope Park site. / COURTESY CRAIG ISSOD
AN AERIAL VIEW of the future Mount Hope Park site. / COURTESY CRAIG ISSOD

PORTSMOUTH – The town of Portsmouth and Aquidneck Land Trust have acquired 4.9 acres for a future waterfront community park in northern Portsmouth next to Mount Hope Bridge and the Portsmouth town common.
The site, which will be permanently protected as open space and parklands, served as a ferry landing between Portsmouth and Bristol from the 1600s up until construction of the bridge in 1929.
The parcel is at the intersection of Bayview Ave and Bristol Ferry Road and juts out into Mount Hope Bay. It is in need of site clearing and seawall renovation.
“The Mount Hope Marina property is an important part of Portsmouth’s history. It is a location where many of our town’s early settlers came ashore. It will be a beautiful waterfront park for all of Portsmouth to be able to enjoy forever,” Portsmouth Town Council President Keith Hamilton said in a statement.
Community input will be solicited to help determine the best design and recreational use for the park. A private foundation grant will assist with the process, according to a press release from the Aquidneck Land Trust.
The park is expected to open by summer 2017.
The property was purchased from a number of limited liability companies for $900,000. Both the town of Portsmouth and the Aquidneck Land Trust contributed to the purchase price.
“Portsmouth is lacking in waterfront public access open space. The land trust is thrilled to work with the town to bring a waterfront park to Portsmouth with such high scenic and recreational conservation values. I’m excited to see the Mount Hope site transform into a gem along the Portsmouth coast,” Chuck Allott, executive director of the Aquidneck Land Trust, said in a statement.
The nonprofit organization has conserved 2,552 acres on 76 properties across Aquidneck Island since its founding in 1990.

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