New Halfway House Opens at Longshore in Westport

, features tasty grilled foods, sandwiches, ice cream and other refreshments golfers may enjoy while heading towards the back nine at Longshore Club Park.

One item on the menu that may catch your eye, ‘The Cliff Burger,’ named after avid golfer and Westport resident Cliff Ross, features avocado and onion piled on top of a beef patty. Cliff's place was named in memory of Ross. 

Although construction only took about five months, it was not easy getting Cliff’s Place up and running. The Town of Westport declined to provide the funds to build a new halfway house at Longshore Club Park after the previous one burnt down in 2003, at which point Former Westport Parks and Recreation Commissioner Janis Collins decided to form a public-private partnership in order to fund the new building.

The $200,000 facility was privately funded, but the town gave up its services by allowing Parks and Recreation employees to work on the project, as well the town attorney. In addition, the town donated the land and the underlying utilizes, according to Collins, who now serves on the Board of Finance.

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“So many people donated their time and materials. A lot of people really came together to get this thing done,” Collins said, noting that the project had its fair share of ‘stumbling blocks.’

About a year and a half ago the 9th & ½ Hole Committee was formed, chaired by Mark Holland and Fred Hunter, which raised the necessary funds to complete the project. Collins put the two chairmen in touch with the Friends of Westport Parks and Recreation, which was a newly formed nonprofit organization established to support the Parks and Recreation Department. 

“What’s so unique about Westport, if you’ve got a good group of people that come together, you can accomplish a lot,” Collins said.

Parks and Recreation Director Stuart McCarthy said the new facility is a great improvement over the previous halfway house.

“It’s a really nice, bright building overlooking the golf course,” McCarthy said.

The building is between the ninth and sixteenth holes and boasts a deck with a gorgeous view.

Collins said public-private partnerships are the way of the future. Projects like the and the partnerships.