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New
York State Parks Expands Sonnenberg Gardens
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and
Mansion State Historic Park
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Acquisition
of two properties provides room for improvement
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of Finger
Lakes tourism destination
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New gateway
and welcome center will improve visitor experience.
View
the design
plan here.
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Albany,
NY – May 2018 / Newsmaker Alert / New
York State Parks announces a conceptual plan to encourage more visitors
and tourists to the acclaimed architecture, statuary, and themed gardens
of Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park in the Finger
Lakes. The acquisition of two properties adjacent to the Canandaigua
site will allow Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion to create a new gateway
and welcome center, featuring a new cafe and enhanced program space. The
announcement complements “Finger Lakes
Forward,” the region’s successful Upstate Revitalization Initiative
plan, a comprehensive strategy to grow the economy.
Lieutenant
Governor Kathy Hochul joined State Parks Commissioner Rose Harvey and community
leaders at Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion on Wednesday (May 9) to unveil
artistic renderings of the welcome center concept.
“Herein
New York, we have a state park system that features some of the most magnificent
natural landscapes in the world,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.
“As one of just two private gardens in our state parks, Sonnenberg Gardens
is a unique treasure. The Finger Lakes region has seen significant investment
and growth, and today’s announcement truly complements the work we are
doing. The upgrades to Sonnenberg Gardens will boost tourism and drive
continued economic activity in the Finger Lakes.”
U.S
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said, “With this planned expansion,
Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park can blossom into a world-class
tourism destination and an even stronger economic driver for the Finger
Lakes Region. I’ve been glad to work with Sonnenberg officials, New York
State, and local stakeholders to help achieve their vision of expanding
and modernizing Sonnenberg Gardens with the acquisition of the former Army
Reserve property site. This is a win-win that will bring new life to a
now-vacant federal building while solving Sonnenberg’s lack of a Visitor
Admissions Center, space for educational programming, adequate parking,
and so much more.”
The
transfer ownership of a 3.5-acre U.S. Army Reserve property to New York
State Parks, as well as the $220,000 purchase of a roughly 1.6-acre parcel
at Charlotte and Gibson Streets will help realign entry to the park and
enhance the visitor experience. The not-for-profit organization that operates
Sonnenberg will now launch a capital campaign for a series of improvements
that will:
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Better
welcome visitors. The former Armory building on the Army Reserve site
will be rehabbed to include space to expand programing, welcome/orientation/ticket
counter space, a tasting area for Finger Lakes wine and beverages, a café/bistro,
gift shop, restrooms and administrative offices.
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Create
a greener, more visible gateway. A new entrance including a bus turnaround
will bring traffic to the site off a major street (Gibson Street/Rt. 21)
that provides more visibility for the site and a direct link to the New
York State Thruway. It will also help divert traffic from a residential
street.
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Enhance
the estate’s historic integrity. The Army Reserve property was once
part of the estate of Frederick Ferris and Mary Clark Thompson, and the
transfer will help unify the site’s original footprint. Additionally, when
completed, the new Visitor Center will introduce visitors to the gardens
and mansion in a way that estate visitors would have entered the grounds.
The new Route 21 gateway also avoids impacts to the historically significant
wall and tree-lined residential neighborhood.
David
Hutchings, Executive Director of Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion State
Historic Park, said, “The Sonnenberg staff and corps of volunteers are
hard at work to solidify Sonnenberg’s place as one of the premier display
gardens and estates in the United States. Today it’s truly a jewel to the
Finger Lakes and a gem in the New York State Park system. This new additional
property restoration and our planned adaptive reuse of this Army Reserve
facility will provide a new welcoming center, archival storage, standard
year-round office space for current staff and a maintenance facility which
today is lacking to our operations.”
Rose
Harvey,Commissioner of the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation,
said, “Governor Cuomo is renewing New York State’s commitment to our state’s
most-treasured public places. Cultural destinations like Sonnenberg are
building blocks of vibrant, exciting tourism economies, and these will
give people more reasons to visit the Finger Lakes region. I am grateful
to Senator Schumer and our partners at Sonnenberg for their commitment
to this special place.”
Senator
Pam Helming said,”Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park has
long been a highly visited tourist destination in the Finger Lakes region.
People from a wide range of diverse backgrounds travel near and far to
visit its special collection of architecture, garden statuary, and themed
gardens. Living in Canandaigua, my family and I are frequent visitors to
Sonnenberg. The creation of a new gateway and welcome center will bring
full circle all that Sonnenberg has to offer and serve as an attractive
way to welcome visitors from across the state. I appreciate State Parks’
continuing focus on the Finger Lakes region’s beautiful tourist attractions
and rich history.”
Assemblyman
Brian Kolb said,”Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park is
a community treasure that is enjoyed by locals and tourists alike. The
acquisition of these new properties will enrich visitors’ experiences by
expanding on the site’s original footprint and offering a new welcome center
designed to fully capture the beauty of the park. An improvement project
of this magnitude will certainly maximize the value of tourism in the region
and boost the local economy.”
Sonnenberg
Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park is a late-19th century Victorian
Estate with a Queen Anne-style mansion and nine historic themed gardens
of the world. Sonnenberg is the former summer home of Fredrick Ferris Thompson
and his wife, Mary Clark Thompson.
Sonnenberg
Gardens and Mansion is one of 250 individual state parks, historic sites,recreational
trails, golf courses and boat launch within the New York State Park System.
A recent study by Parks & Trails New York found the park system generates
$5 billion in economic activity and supports 54,000 jobs,including nearly
$289 million in activity and 3,300 jobs in the Finger Lakes region.
New
York State is making an historic commitment to improve state parks and
expand access to outdoor recreation. The Governor’s NY Parks 2020 program
is a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million in private and public
funding for State Parks through 2020. The Governor’s 2017-18 Executive
Budget allocates $90 million toward this initiative.
Accelerating
Finger Lakes Forward
The
announcement complements “Finger Lakes
Forward,” the region’s comprehensive blueprint to generate robust economic
growth and community development. The state has already invested more than
$5.2 billion in the region since 2012 to lay the groundwork for the plan
– investing in key industries including photonics, agriculture and food
production, and advanced manufacturing. Today, unemployment is down to
the lowest levels since before the Great Recession; personal and corporate
income taxes are down; and businesses are choosing places like Rochester,
Batavia and Canandaigua as a destination to grow and invest in.
Now,
the region is accelerating Finger Lakes Forward with a $500 million state
investment through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, announced by
Governor Cuomo in December 2015. The State’s $500 million investment will
incentivize private business to invest well over $2.5 billion – and the
region’s plan, as submitted, projects up to 8,200 new jobs.
The
New
York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees
more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses,
boat launches and more, which are visited by 71 million people annually.
A recent study found that New York State Parks generates $5 billion in
park and visitor spending, which supports nearly 54,000 jobs and over $2.8
billion in additional state GDP. For more information on any of these recreation
areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit
www.parks.ny.gov,
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