On February 11, the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) voted to support the recommendations of Mayor Marty Walsh regarding 67 projects to receive funding from the Community Preservation Act (CPA).
The Cocoanut Grove Memorial project, which has been proposed for Statler Park, is Bay Village’s first project to be recommended for CPA funding. The project has been recommended for $250,000 in CPA funds this round, and the proposed memorial will remember 490 people who passed away in the fire at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in 1942.
According to the Cocoanut Grove Memorial Committee’s website, committee members say that “our objective is to create a memorial that preserves and honors the memory of the victims, survivors, first responders and medical professionals.”
The website also states that the memorial was “unanimously approved by the Boston Arts Commission at their monthly meeting” in January.
“After consideration of the amended application, the CPC recommends a grant award of $250,000 to the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. The grant award would partially fund the capital improvements and memorial construction to rehabilitate land for active and passive recreational use, including a new memorial to commemorate the Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire of 1942,” reads a slide presented at the February 11 vote.
CPA funds for FY21 total $25,517,608, according to the City, and projects are divided into three categories: affordable housing, historic preservation, and open space and recreation.
The City Council will vote on the final slate of projects, and if approved, the recommended funds will then be allocated to the respective projects.