They said it couldn’t be done – raising more than $9 million in a small town in Ohio by a cultural institution who had never led a capital campaign in its 67-year history as a public garden. Well, they were wrong.
Kingwood Center Gardens celebrated the opening of its Garden Gateway Project after three years of careful planning and design, diligent fundraising, and fast-paced construction. The pride in what they had accomplished was tangible and contagious! Terra and our planning and design team - Architects: The Seckel Group; Engineers: K.E.McCartney; Interpretive Planners: The Acorn Group; Strategic Planners and Capital Fund Development Council: EMD Consulting Group – were super excited to partake in the festivities on a brisk mid-pandemic evening in October.
New garden offerings include a green Auto Garden, artful storm water installations, and formal terrace gardens. The star of the show is the Grand Perennial Garden that presents a traditional Rosemary Verey-inspired Rainbow Border Garden contrasted by a Piet Oudolf-inspired New Perennial Meadow, designed by Austin Eischeid. Local artists, Virgil Villers and Lori Kay Farr added their own flare to the Project.
The Garden Gateway Project also includes a 13,200 s.f. transformational Gateway Center, designed by The Seckel Group, that welcomes guests, offers food service and a place to shop and buy Garden-grown plants, introduces the story of Charles Kelley King, and provides a place for the Mansfield community to make wonderful memories in the King Ballroom.