An access grant joins the park project
Dennis has been awarded $115,829 through the Seasonal Communities State Grant Program for transportation infrastructure supporting Port Side Community Park. Town Administrator Elizabeth Sullivan’s October 29 report says the money will support construction and upgrades on town-owned land, and describes the Dennis Port park as under construction.
The report identifies the award as support for the park’s transportation connections. It does not give a separate completion date for the grant-funded work.
A former parking lot becomes recreation space
The park is planned for 187 Upper County Road, on a largely paved site previously used for church parking. The town’s October 20 project announcement describes walking paths, landscaping, play areas and a basketball court, with benches, picnic tables, bike racks and water stations.
Dennis received six construction bids on September 22. Robert Our, a Harwich contractor, won with a $2,014,697.06 bid. The town says it sought bids before the October 6 Special Town Meeting so voters would have a firm construction figure when considering the funding.
What the latest report establishes
The October 29 report also clarifies why a separate supplemental park-funding article did not advance at Town Meeting: bids were below preliminary estimates, so the extra funding was no longer needed. That article was indefinitely postponed.
The October 20 announcement projected completion by the following summer, meaning summer 2027. That remains a construction target, rather than an announced opening day. The new grant and the park contract are separate reported amounts; they should not be read as a revised total project budget.
