On Tuesday, March 25, 2022, Tilcon Connecticut officially granted the town of Portland, Connecticut a critical easement over its Portland Asphalt and Concrete Plant property, permitting access to the town’s Connecticut Riverfront land. The municipality is hopeful it can build a public boat launch on previously inaccessible town-owned riverfront land adjacent to Tilcon’s property. This will provide residents with their first ever public boat launch.

Tilcon Connecticut President, Gary E. Wall, states “Tilcon Connecticut is still very much a local company with local interests. Many of Tilcon’s employees were raised in the communities where we operate and attended local schools before coming to work for Tilcon. There are many of us that represent second, third, and even fourth-generation employees from local families. The company reflects its employees’ abiding interests in the well-being of the communities where we live and work.” Wall also quotes a founding company president Angelo Tomasso, Jr. who often said, “If we cannot help in the communities where we operate, where can we help?”

Tilcon has a long-standing, close relationship with the municipality. In March 1974, the company granted the town permission to utilize an unoccupied area of its site for the community’s needs. A baseball field was built on that land and has been in use by Portland’s little league teams for over 40 years.

Recently, according to officials, the needs of the town have changed. The municipality has constructed a new town sporting complex meaning that the baseball facility located at Tilcon’s Connecticut river property will no longer be needed. As a result, the town has begun formulating a plan that would transform the baseball field into a public space. This would provide residents with a parking area, as well as access to a town-owned Connecticut river site where a formal boat launch would be constructed. This new easement will provide the required accessway from the former baseball field to the new riverfront boat launch.

Tilcon understands that partnering with the town on this project enables significant positive development for the municipality’s attractions and amenities, making it a pursuit the company is eager to support. Wall adds, “At Tilcon Connecticut, supporting our local communities is at the core of everything we do and is one of the main motivating factors for our decision-making and business practices. We are proud to support our neighbors in each of the communities where we operate. Our mission is to help enhance the communities where we work, live, and our families play.” At the Board of Selectmen’s meeting, held this March, Tilcon formally agreed to grant the town the new access easement, enabling the municipality to utilize their riverfront site for the community.

The Town of Portland boat launch and riverfront project is still in the preliminary stages of development. Nonetheless, Tilcon Connecticut is enthusiastic about this community project and looks forward to seeing its growth.

Read more press coverage by The Middletown Press on this story.