Hygienic amphitheater project gets underway on Bank Street.

Structure will cover stage and seating area to lengthen perfomance season

New London — The Hygienic Art Galleries and Art Park this week added one more development project to a growing list on Bank Street, in the heart of the city’s business and arts district.

Site work is underway for the Hygienic’s $425,000 amphitheater project, a steel and glass structure that will cover the stage and seating area of the park and lengthen the season for performances there.

The 60-by-60-foot prefabricated structure was designed by renowned architect Jason Holtzman and is being custom built and dry fitted overseas before it is packed and shipped to New London. A crane is expected to lift the pieces of the structure into place in October.

Contractor Chris Leitkowski, of GCL-Leitkowski Industries of Uncasville, is performing the site work and expects the enclosure to be in place before the first snowflakes fall. The canopy will provide shade and protection from the elements, reducing the likelihood of event cancelations due to inclement weather.

Dignitaries and major sponsors of the project attended a ceremonial groundbreaking on Thursday, where Hygienic President Vincent Scarano referred to the project as Hygienic 3.0, which, in addition to the amphitheater, includes renovation work at the nonprofit group’s historic 79 Bank St. building.

Phase 1 was saving the building, he said. The Hygienic Restaurant and Delicatessen closed its doors in 1985 and the building sat vacant and was slated for demolition when a grass-roots movement of artists helped purchase the building in 1998.

“Anyone thinking about demolishing buildings downtown — this is what can happen if you save a building,” Scarano said.

He said the second phase was the purchase of the adjacent vacant lots and expanding the footprint of the Hygienic.

“It was all vision driven for our mission to support emerging artists and to give a venue to all artists,” Scarano said. “What’s happening here is people believing in us and giving to us and contributing to downtown community development.”

He called the Garde Arts Theater and Hygienic the two anchors of the downtown and important parts of the community and economic development of New London.

The courtyard of the Hygienic’s park was dedicated Thursday as the Edward and Mary Lords Plaza, a nod to the foundation’s $50,000 donation to the project. The new performance area will be known as the Frank Loomis Palmer Amphitheater in honor of that foundation’s $75,000 donation. The Chester Kitchings Family Foundation also has kicked in $30,000.

The first performance at the amphitheater will happen in June and kick off what Hygienic spokeswoman Sarah McKay said will become a three-season venue.

The opening will coincide with the Festival of Creativity and Innovation that celebrates visual and performing arts and innovators with a citywide slate of events.

The project is being funded through a $125,000 Connecticut Office of the Arts Good to Great grant that was matched by sponsors and individual donations.

McKay said the Hygienic is $125,000 short of reaching what originally was a $300,000 goal but since has increased to $425,000.

The Hygienic is now accepting bids for assembly of the amphitheater structure.

“Anyone thinking of demolishing buildings downtown — this is what can happen if you save a building.”

HYGIENIC PRESIDENT VINCENT SCARANO