Boathouse to become new environmental-education center at Green Lakes State Park

MANLIUS — New York State is looking ahead to the fall when it plans to convert a deteriorated 1940’s boathouse into a new environmental-education center at Green Lakes State Park in the town of Manlius.

It’ll be a $6 million project, Rose Harvey, commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (New York State Parks), said in her
remarks May 31 at Green Lakes State Park.

The project is part of the “next phase” of the $16.9 million in projects at the state park, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced May 31.

“We’ve invested $10 million so far and $6 million more to come,” said Harvey.

Cuomo’s office refers to the work as a “transformation of Central New York’s most-visited state park.” Funding from Cuomo’s NY Parks 2020 initiative supports the work.

It also complements “Central NY Rising,” the region’s economic-development blueprint, which captured one of three $500 million prizes in Cuomo’s 2015 Upstate economic-development contest.

Cuomo’s office also announced “major improvements” at Green Lakes State Park “in time for the summer season,” including the renovation of the golf-course clubhouse, Pine Woods Campground, and park entrance.

“Green Lakes State Park is a crown jewel in the parks system and a vital resource for outdoor recreation and tourism in Central New York,” Cuomo said in a news release.

“We are making great strides to preserve the unparalleled natural beauty of our state parks to help New York’s tourism economy reach new heights and attract more people to visit and stay longer in Central New York.”

“Gov. Cuomo’s Parks 2020 is about fixing, revitalizing, touching every park, all 215 parks and historic sites all throughout the state,” said Harvey.

Education center
Crews will move the boathouse back from the water’s edge on Green Lake, where it is exposed to flooding, and renovate it.

The new center will include new indoor classroom/multipurpose space; kitchenette and restrooms in the building; an outdoor classroom; lakefront boardwalk and canoe/kayak landing; new boat rental booth and storage racks; and a fishing pier.

A $500,000 grant from the Central regional economic-development council is supporting the project, Cuomo’s office said.

The state will also work with the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) on a fundraising campaign for other education amenities.

“We’re going to work on a campaign to raise some extra money toward that $6 million to really have state-of-the-art interpretation and signage,” said Harvey.

The campaign will work to raise between $500,000 and $750,000, Cornelius (Neil) Murphy Jr., SUNY-ESF professor and former president of SUNY-ESF from 2000 to 2014, said in a June 5 email response to CNYBJ.

The fundraising will start in July, he noted. The funding will pay for educational technology, exhibits describing the “unique” environmental assets in the park and the lakes, sampling equipment, kayaks, and support the “environmental education mission.”

In conjunction with the education center, State Parks will undertake work to improve the park “ecosystem,” Cuomo’s office said.

The work will include restoring the lake edge, redirecting stormwater to constructed wetlands and bioswales/bioretention basins, upgrading electric systems, and rehabilitating the “deteriorated” West Beach parking area with “green” elements.

Completed projects
New York State has already completed other projects at Green Lakes. They include a $4 million renovation of the golf-course clubhouse, featuring an improved patio with an outdoor dining area, new public restrooms, and an interior renovation of the clubhouse.

“We’ve completely gutted the interior and we have a wonderful new bar and food areas,” said Harvey.

The work also included a $6.7 million renovation of the Pine Woods campground, which involved the addition of campsites with electric, water, and sewer connections; two new restroom and shower buildings; and improved roads and infrastructure improvements to help protect the park’s “ecologically significant lakes,” Cuomo’s office said.

The state also spent $200,000 on rehabilitation, reconstruction, and maintenance of park trails, including erosion control, drainage, surface, directional and interpretive signage improvements on both lake trails, the Brookside Trail, as well as grassland trails and connectors.

The improvements at Green Lakes State Park are part of Cuomo’s NY Parks 2020 Plan, a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million in private and public funding for State Parks from 2011 to 2020.

The current state budget allocates $120 million toward this initiative, Cuomo’s office said.