The Downtown 2020 Committee heard the second design firm proposal for the redevelopment of Westport's central area at another Town Hall meeting Wednesday night.
The RBA Group of Connecticut, LLC, based in Norwalk, presented its plan, which placed an emphasis on the Saugatuck River as the place where Westport began and the place where its future lies, according to a Westport News article.
Jackson Wandres of RBA Group said the firm sees the river as an opportunity to promote an arts scene on the east and west sides and encouraged bringing in new restaurants to both sides, according to the article.
Wandres also proposed a jitney ferry to take people from the west side of the river to the Levitt Pavilion, as well as a new pedestrian bridge, according to the article.
The firm was the second of three to propose its plan. The committee interviewed the first of the three firms, Peter J. Smith & Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., at the Monday meeting. That firm's plan would cost nearly $169,000, while RBA's would cost $178,500.
Westport was awarded a $497,595 state grant for improving the town's downtown commercial infrastructure at the beginning of July.
The committee will next talk to Milone & MacBroom, based in Chesire, with a plan that would cost $185,000, on July 31 at 7 p.m.
The three are the finalists out of seven deign firms that expressed interest in the committee's request for proposals. When a final firm is chosen, its plan will then need to be approved by several town boards and commissions, according to the article.
The Downtown 2020 Committee was appointed by First Selectman Gordon Joseloff in March 2012, according to the press release.
To read the firms' proposals, click here.
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