By Janet G. Mead

“Our dream is to make Norfolk the vibrant place we all would like it to be,” said Samuel (Pete) Anderson, president of the newly established Norfolk Foundation. “We want to make Norfolk a center for art and natural recreation.”

To work toward this goal, Anderson and three other founding board members—Mary Ackerly, Libby Borden and Steve Melville—have created a new organization in town, the Norfolk Foundation, which was certified as a nonprofit in the State of Connecticut in November 2015.

Anderson, a professor of architecture at the University of Virginia for many years, has long had a distinct vision of how the center of Norfolk might be stitched together, physically and culturally. The goal is to create one whole, lively Norfolk center—to open up the pathways between the major institutions, like the library and Town Hall and Yale School of Music and Art. Other Norfolk attractions, such as its network of trails and parks, as well as the proposed rails-to-trails network, would feed into this central hub.

The Norfolk Foundation will actively support efforts, such as the City Meadow project, already underway. In addition, it will focus on strengthening and expanding the role of the arts in Norfolk in and around the central hub by supporting summer festivals and related activities throughout the year.

The group hopes that its initiatives, in conjunction with other groups in town, such as the Economic Development Commission and the Community Association, will help to develop a more sustainable and attractive business district. As part of that effort, the foundation wants to create a place in the center of Norfolk, perhaps in one of the buildings on Station Place, where people from all the different civic organizations in town could meet and where ideas and proposals could be shared and stored—”a hub, a congenial place,” Anderson said. A small staff would facilitate communication and coordination between these groups.

The Norfolk Foundation is currently in the process of adding more board members and applying for tax-exempt status from the IRS. Until they receive that, they will operate under the fiscal sponsorship of the Community Foundation of Northwest Connecticut.