A state grant will help Monroe County close a funding gap for its Children's Pavilion project in Highland Park, but the money won't be enough for construction to begin.
The county is receiving $500,000 from the project through Empire State Development.
"We will be applying for additional state grants, and are hopeful that we’ll be successful," county spokesperson Molly Clifford said in an e-mail. "The Highland Park Conservancy also continues to fundraise towards this very exciting and historic project."
The Children's Pavilion was a central element of Frederick Law Olmsted's original design for Highland Park. It sat at the park's highest point where its paths converged, and its September 1890 dedication drew an audience of 10,000. But the original structure was torn down in 1963 after years of neglect.
The Highland Park Conservancy, a nonprofit stewardship and advocacy group, has been campaigning for a new Children's Pavilion since its founding in 1994.
In 2022, Monroe County legislators approved a proposal for the county to take over the effort and provide up to $1.1 million toward what was then an estimated $3.1 million project. The conservancy has raised $1.3 million toward the project, and the project previously received a $1 million state grant.
The county expected to begin construction on the pavilion this year, but as has been the recent case with several local public projects, the bids came in much higher than expected, delaying that work.
Clifford said the county continues to evaluate its options for advancing the project.
