Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park To Undergo $9.3M Renovation

GREAT RIVER, NY — A Great River state park will undergo a $9.3 million construction project to enhance visitor experience.

Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park began renovations Tuesday to create a new visitor center, improve parking, and enhance exhibits, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

"Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park has been attracting visitors for decades and is a shining example of the great estates on the South Shore of Long Island during the 19th century," Hochul said. "These improvements will make a visit to this historic site an even more enriching and enjoyable experience, and will ensure it is enjoyed by generations of New Yorkers."

The plans include a new 1,600 square-foot center to educate visitors about the Cutting family and their historic 60-room, Tudor-style mansion, the landscaped grounds with a wide variety of trees, shrubs and plants, and the impact of ongoing climate change on Long Island.

Guided tours of the mansion, which was recently used during filming of HBO Max's The Gilded Age, are available seasonally.

The arboretum grounds were designed for original owner William Bayard Cutting, a wealthy attorney, financier, real estate developer, sugar beet refiner, and philanthropist, by Frederick Law Olmsted, who had earlier designed Central Park in New York City and what was to become Niagara Falls State Park.

The park has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 as a historic district.

"The Bayard Cutting Arboretum State Park is a gem to Long Island and our communities," said State Sen. Alexis Weik. "The park is enjoyed by many, including my family and I, and with its historic and rich history, I am thrilled it is receiving the upgrades it needs and deserves."

Also, 248 new, paved and standard-width parking spaces will replace the current array of undersized parking spots. Electrical service at the mansion will also be upgraded.

The project is expected to be completed by fall 2024, Hochul said. The park will remain open during construction.

The $9.3 million project is funded by several partners, including a $1.5 million donation from the Bayard Cutting Board of Trustees through the Natural Heritage Trust, as well as grants from New York Works ($4.8 million), federal Land and Water Conservation Fund ($2.3 million) and state Environmental Protection Fund ($750,000), Hochul said.

"The generous support from the Bayard Cutting trustees, combined with funding from the state, represents the kind of public/private partnerships that are so valuable to State Parks and the Natural Heritage Trust," said state Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid. "These improvements are going to make a visit to this special place, which set an attendance record in 2021, even better."

Several sustainability efforts will also include a photo-voltaic solar power array on the visitor center's roof, LED parking lot lighting, electric vehicle charging stations and pervious asphalt paving in the parking lots that will improve storm water drainage and water quality.

Designed by MBB Architects, the new visitor center will have a glass pavilion to house exhibits at the entrance to the 19,000 square-foot mansion and grounds.

An interactive app/website is also being developed to orient visitors to the arboretum and learn about specific trees and gardens located there.

More than 471,000 people visited the arboretum in 2021, an annual record and an increase of nearly 90 percent since 2015, a release said. Since 2003, more than 4.4 million people have visited the 691-acre park situated on the picturesque Connetquot River.

The park also features an array of hiking trails that are open year-round.