Batterson Park

File:Batterson Park
Batterson Park and surrounding area, 1990
Location	Farmington, CT
Coordinates	41°42′55″N 72°47′25″W / 41.715198°N 72.790182°W / 41.715198; -72.790182Coordinates: 41°42′55″N 72°47′25″W / 41.715198°N 72.790182°W / 41.715198; -72.790182
Opened	Circa 1928
Operated by	City of Hartford

Batterson Park is a public park owned by the City of Hartford, Connecticut, though located outside the city limits within the nearby towns of West Hartford, and Farmington. It is near Talcott Mountain State Park, and includes a large pond with a state-managed boat launch.^[1] The pond was formerly used as reservoir managed by the City Water Department, and became a park sometime after 1928, when the water department turned over the disused land to the city. Parts of the land were sold or transferred for private development and highway construction in the time since, including 67 acres sold in 1988 to establish the Hartford Parks Trust Fund. Approximately 600 acres remain.^[2]

Approximately 46% of the parkland owned by the City of Hartford is located outside of its jurisdiction, with the majority of that land comprising Batterson Park. The city is exploring options to create a regional partnership with neighboring towns to share maintenance costs. The town of Farmington has also approached the city to purchase the remaining parcels of Batterson Park, having purchased a portion in 2003.^[2] Batterson Park was transferred to the pension fund in 2017 in lieu of a payment of $5,000,000, according to the Hartford Courant, although the land would easily sell for more than $100,000,000 if it was sold for residential use. The pension fund has not indicated whether it intends to maintain the land as a public park, or develop the lot for commercial and/or residential purposes.^[3]

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