DCR presents phased Lake Quinsigamond lakefront redesign; funding not yet secured, commission continues review

Design consultants with Hatch and LEC described a two‑phase effort to reconfigure the Bathhouse parking area and transform asphalt into a porous playground surface, a spray deck and a safer overlook at Lake Quinsigamond. Andrew Kiel of Hatch said Phase 1 focuses on the south end of the parking lot adjacent to the bathhouse and would include a spray deck, playground and a secondary path to Lake Avenue.

"The ultimate goal is to permanently close the inaccessible swimming beach and replace it with a safer reimagined lakefront," Andrew Kiel said, and showed concept renderings and a planting plan that would remove invasive Norway maples and replace them with a mix of canopy and understory species. Hillary Holmes, the project's stormwater engineer, described an underground infiltration approach intended to meet Massachusetts stormwater standards and reduce total suspended solids by about 80 percent; she said the design retains 0.8 inches times impervious area for treatment and will direct runoff to an underground infiltration system pending field infiltration testing prior to construction.

DCR project manager Joseph (Joey) Silvera told the commission that construction funding is not secured and that the timeline—design completion in summer and a hoped‑for Phase 1 opening the following summer—depends on funding. Staff noted there was no DEP file number for the Notice of Intent, so the commission did not vote and continued the hearing to allow DEP review and file issuance.

Commissioners and staff requested infiltration test data before final approvals and asked the applicant to coordinate with DEP's technical reviewer. No formal action was taken; the commission set a continuance to the August 3 meeting to await DEP comments.