Major garden and building changes coming to Franklin Park Conservatory as part of 25-year plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens unveiled a new plan to become a premier botanical garden destination in the next 25 years, with renderings to show what that could look like.

On Thursday, the conservatory announced its North Star Master Plan. After 24 months of community research and visioning with architecture and design experts, the Franklin Park Conservatory made a blueprint for the next 25 years.

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Renderings for the proposed renovations show just how different the conservatory will look at the end of the plan. A new main entrance building to the gardens will be built from the ground up, and include a restaurant and gift shop. The existing botanical gardens will make way for a center “Grand Mallway Garden” and a north and south garden flanking it. With visitors entering a separate entrance building, the existing main conservatory will undergo major repurposing.

“Central Ohio is on the cusp of a boom in industry and population,” said Bruce Harkey, president and CEO of Franklin Park Conservatory. “The conservatory aspires to grow along with it by providing a connection to nature and educational opportunities for families, our community and visitors to Columbus.”

The entrance from Broad St. to Franklin Park and the conservatory will be moved to the traffic light at Woodland Ave. and Broad St., and new underground parking will become available to guests. The entrance to the conservatory’s visitor experience will move to a central location west of the John F. Wolfe Palm House and the Conservatory’s Grand Mallway.

The conservatory said these changes will reorient the conservatory, creating a synergy between it and Franklin Park. It also claimed this would create a better experience and support a safer environment by improving traffic flow, as well as upgrading security.

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There are 15 capital projects in the new master plan, which include a mix of construction and renovation projects aimed toward making the gardens a visitors' first impression. In addition to the underground parking, notable projects include:

• John F. Wolfe Palm House and Dorothy M. Davis Showhouse: The conservatory's first priority will be a full renovation of the palm house and showhouse, which the release called historical icons of Columbus in need of preservation for future generations.

• New Grand Mallway, North and South Signature Gardens: New "elegant" Grand Mallway gardens are planned and wilkl be flanked by new North and South Signature Gardens the conservatory said will be naturalistic and whimsical.

• New Visitor Center Building with Restaurant and Gift Shop: With the conservatory's entrance being moved, a new centralized Visitor Center Building will be required. It will be home to the conservatory's restaurant, gift shop, event venue, restrooms, orientation space, and possibly even an art gallery.

• New biomes: Two new biomes will be added to the east of the main building. One will be home to the conservatory's Chihuly collection, the largest such collection in a botanical garden, and the second will feature a year-round butterfly experience.

• Modernized Main Building: The current visitor entrance will become a secondary entrance for school groups, events and staff entry. The building will be made into a visitor space, office space, classrooms, kid-friendly play areas, rooftop gardens and gallery space.

Other notable projects include renovated biomes, expanded greenhouse operations complex, and the expansion of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation Children's Garden.

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