When Bridgeport Parks and Recreation officials announced two years ago that the painting of the exterior of the Benedum Civic Center was the beginning of continual improvements to the decades old facility, they weren’t offering the community lip service.

 

Although many improvements are basic, for frequent users of the building, they should start noticing even more changes. According to P&R Director Don Burton, between $12,000 and $15,000 in improvements are being done to the interior of the building.

 

Right now, the big projects that are taking up the bulk of the aforementioned money are the restroom renovations. Both the men’s and women’s restrooms are being completely redone.

 

“Those projects are coming along nicely,” Burton said. “We’re replacing ceiling tiles, new fixtures that includes sinks, toilets and a granite type of counter. Eventually, we’ll put ceramic tiles on the floor and paint the walls.”

 

The work is being done by the staff of Parks and Recreation. Initial estimates to contract the work out were well north of $30,000.

 

“We plan on doing things over several years as this building still sees a tremendous amount of community use and is not only a focal point for the community, but is one of the city’s landmarks. You want it to be in the best shape possible for those reasons,” Burton said.

 

Burton said the interior work was scheduled to coincide with the winter months. He also said money for this project was escrowed and funds are being put back to handle future projects as well.

 

Editor's Note: P&R staff work on the ceiling in the women's restroom, while the tools needs are shown in the bottom photo.