NORWICH – Last year, a part of Norwich’s Christmas tradition was missing when Santa Claus’ cottage was not open in East Side Park. But this year, the Norwich Business Improvement District is hoping change that.

“Last year, after the Jaycees pulled out of the park, it was the intent of the BID to bring Santa back to downtown,” said BID Executive Director Pegi LoPresti.

Last year local merchants tried to alleviate the loss of Santa’s cottage by hosting Santa in a different business location every weekend, but the BID, along with Gary Brightman, Burrell Excavating and the Norwich Career Firefighters, have combined efforts to bring back the igloo-like cottage that was Santa’s home in the past.

The group hopes to recreate a version of Santa’s cottage that occupied the park in the late 1960s. The structure would be built to look like an igloo, to give the perception of a trip to the North Pole. The structure will be located on the bandstand, but would be built in pieces so that it would be easy to assemble and disassemble and could still be utilized if the BID’s plan to renovate the parks is put into action.