Business & Tech

Pittsburgh Botanic Garden Breaks Ground on New Entrance

The site near Settlers Cabin Park broke ground on the entrance that workers hope will help make the gardens a tourist attraction for the area.

The Pittsburgh Botanic Garden near  broke ground on a grand new entrance that workers there hope will help make the gardens a tourist attraction for the area.

The new entrance, which includes six acres donated from Allegheny County, will allow the botanical garden to build a barn and administration office.

The 460-acre site has been a vision for 14 years, but was nearly wiped out by the devastating rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Ivan in 2004. It washed away soil and made acid mine drainage a big problem in the area.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“So many of the low-lying areas were damaged,” said Kitty Vagley, director of development for the botanical garden. “Our property was, too.”

But the northern 60 acres weren’t damaged, so the focus shifted to begin developing that area. Wednesday morning’s ground breaking was a major accomplishment for the organization.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Vagley said they had 170 people on hand for the occasion.

“A lot of them were long-time donors and volunteers and people who have believed in us through this very long process,” she said. “It was quite a celebration that this long-promised garden is finally coming to fruition and we’ll finally be able to share our work with the public.”

Collier Township Manager Sal Sirabella agreed the occasion was big news for both the region and the municipality.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Sirabella said.

Vagley said they will have weekly sneak peek and preview tours beginning Sept. 13 so people can see the progress they’ve made on the gardens.

“That will be serving as our front door for the next five years,” Vagley said. “It was very important to us.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Forest Hills-Regent Square