Millbrook gathers to celebrate the Grand Opening of Bennett Park

MILLBROOK — Marking completion of the first phase in the historic development of the new Bennett Park on the site of the former Bennett College, the official grand opening on Sunday, Oct. 5, drew a wide representation of residents and friends, contributors of funds and considerable professional expertise.

An official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held under a large white tent erected on the park’s Great Lawn. That the ribbon to be cut was forest green in color was an appropriate symbol to open a green space. The large audience had assembled to appreciate the reality of the project, brought about by generous donors and collaborators, but additionally to be present at a milestone moment in local history.

The first phase has brought the creation of Millbrook’s largest public green space. The project is a giant undertaking by the nonprofit Millbrook Community Partnership, whose president, Oakleigh Thorne, recognized by name the multitude of local supporters and went on to share plans for the rest of the project, including the Woodland Trail feature, even more park features and the Thorne Center slated to become a community cultural center.

The final bit of ongoing work to finish Phase One is the creation of a woodland trail connecting the village to the park, slated for completion in spring of 2026.

The story of the long journey described by Thorne began in 2014.

“The Bennett College campus by then was an aesthetic calamity,” Thorne said. The once proud collegiate institution had been foreclosed on by Dutchess County. It was local businessman George Whalen III whose foresight led him to pay the back taxes and acquire the property envisioning the creation of a public park.

The phased project to create a green space began in 2021 with the demolition of the imposingly spooky Bennett College buildings, laden with asbestos and deteriorated beyond saving.

“We had bought ourselves a nightmare,” Thorne observed, adding that the calamity ultimately became a public space to be enjoyed by countless future generations.

Demolition, design and construction were the next phases. Thorne praised the work and herculean efforts of MCP board member Larry Shapiro and his “dramatic demolition.” An elevator that had sunk all the way to the basement of the old campus building was plucked upward in its shaft by a giant crane. That historic elevator cab is slated to be an installation at the Thorne Center where it will be an historic memento of Bennett College.

Next year Bennett Park will see expanded parking and rest room facilities.

The two limiting factors going forward are funding and necessary design work, Thorne said.

“We have $26 million in gifted funds to create the Thorne Center,” Thorne said. “That total is 75% of the $34 million in projected cost.” Those statistics drew robust applause. Design drawings for that project are currently underway.

Following the presentation, there was lively music and souvenirs including commemorative frisbees, refreshments and children’s activities including a scavenger hunt with prizes to complete the afternoon’s festivities.