Ground was broken last week for expansion at Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua. The first part, of what will eventually be a more than $6 million project, will provide for a new entrance and gateway to Sonnenberg and Mansion State Historic Park.
David Hutchings, Sonnenberg's executive director, said this project utilizes land that Sonnenberg had previously acquired from the U.S. Army, where a former armory was located. Hutchings said part of that armory will be developed into a new visitors center for Sonnenberg.
"Their office wing from the Reserve is all turned into archives and our offices for the gardens now, and we have a maintenance facility that we didn’t have before and we’re hoping to convert a large section of the building into an educational visitors center," Hutchings said, adding that the facility would eventually include a café-bistro type of concept, as well as a gift and wine center.
To date, the project has been supported by $1 million from two state Community Funding Application Grants, as well as more than $300,000 from an ongoing fundraising campaign by the Friends of Sonnenberg group that operates the site.
Fundraising to complete the project is ongoing, and Hutchings is hoping to see the project completed over the next two to three years.
