We can finally get excited about the Waterfront Botanical Gardens; work to start in September

Sheldon S. Shafer | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Early look at Louisville's Waterfront Botanical Gardens The master plan features a huge conservatory as the centerpiece, as well as a series of gardens, meadows, pathways and plazas, horticulture exhibits, and educational facilities.

Three decades after a major horticultural-centered project was first envisioned in Louisville, construction is finally slated to start in mid-September on the long-awaited Waterfront Botanical Gardens.

A groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 15 will start the first phase of the gardens at the 23-acre former Ohio Street Dump and landfill. It's planned on the south side of River Road between Frankfort Avenue and Beargrass Creek and north of Interstate-71.

The project could cost up to $50 million and take 10 to 20 years for a full development, the backers say.

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The master plan features a huge conservatory as the project centerpiece, as well as a series of gardens, meadows, pathways, plazas, horticulture exhibits and educational facilities.

The first phase is to feature a 4,000-square-foot education center amid four outdoor gardens and a plaza, along with a pollinating meadow, an entryway off Frankfort, a walking path to Beargrass Creek and an initial roadway. Their total cost is estimated at $6.4 million.

If all goes well, the educational facility could be available for group rentals in early 2019, but some additional money needs to be raised to complete the first phase.

The Louisville Zoo makes a concerted effort to promote horticulture and gardens, but Louisville is one of the few American cities without some stand-alone, horticultural-related attraction. The pending gardens project is widely viewed as a major new tourism draw.

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Mike Kimmel, a spokesman for the Waterfront Development Corp. that oversees the nearby Waterfront Park, said the garden project will be a great complement to the park that is visited by nearly 2 million people a year.

"It will bring even more people to the area, and it sends a very green message with which the park is consistent," Kimmel said. "The design is looking very good."

Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement that the gardens project has the ability to be "a great amenity for the city and for tourism. The unique location near Waterfront Park gives the project lots of potential. There is a passionate team of people dedicated to making the project a reality."

Talk of a major botanical project harkens back to the mid-1980s. A project was originally proposed at what became the University of Louisville Shelby Campus off Hurstbourne Parkway. And at one time the world-renown landscape architect, the late Roberto Burle Marx was selected to design a Louisville project.

But it never materialized, and the old landfill on River Road has been the preferred site for the last dozen years or so.

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All along, the project has been promoted primarily by the nonprofit Botanica Inc. — an organization now doing business as Waterfront Botanical Gardens. A business plan, currently several years old, forecasted that a fully developed project could attract more than 200,000 people a year and generate $600,000 a year in new local and state tax revenue.

Kasey Maier, the Waterfront Gardens executive director and chief fund-raiser who heads a staff of three, said the organization has met conditions to own the targeted parcel that were set years ago by the city and then-Mayor Jerry Abramson — clearing the way for transferring the title to Botanica for $1.

"There are a hundred reasons why we like the site" along River Road, Maier said. "It is close to downtown. It is close to Waterfront Park and the Big Four Bridge. It is on the 100-mile (Louisville) Loop."

Stipulations included raising at least $2 million and ensuring that there are no remaining major environmental issues at the site.

Maier said the state has agreed to provide an interest-free $390,000 loan to put down a top covering — a mixture of dirt, pavement and asphalt — to seal any contaminated soil in the area where the initial development will occur.

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The sponsors have raised $4.6 million, with more than 1,000 donors in 2016 alone. Maier said she is confident that the remaining $1.8 million needed to complete most of the first phase can be raised so construction can proceed.

Emil and Nancy Graeser have provided $1.6 million to fund much of the cost of what is being called the Graeser Family Education Center — the key initial structure.

Maier said the center will have four outdoor gardens featuring edible plants, water filtration, Kentucky native plants and pollinator gardens. A plaza is also planned, along with a 75-space parking area, the main entrance off Frankfort and a walking path leading to Beargrass Creek.

Businessman George Duthie made a pledge of $500,000 to name the entry plaza outside the center in memory of his late wife, Mary Lee Duthie, an avid gardener.

Soon thereafter, if additional money is raised, the plans call for small buildings devoted to a greenhouse, a classroom and a workshop, Maier said.

Also planned is a seven-acre "pollinator meadow" expected to be planted next spring. It will be a home for bees and butterflies. The Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve in Oldham County and writer-gardener Bob Hill are helping to develop it, and Caudill Seed is providing the seed. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is expected to help sponsor the meadows, Maier said.

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Maier said that there won't be any admission fee when just the first phase is developed. But later on, when additional facilities are opened, an admission will be charged for the gardens to support itself.

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at 502-582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.