Author: Janice Gerrish

Friday Jan 1 St Ed Park FREE Day Join Family Oriented Walk & Talk

On Jan 01, 2016 there will be a Free Day at St Edward State park and the First Hike. The Family hike is sponsored by Friends of St Edward State Park. Ranger Scotti, Bob and Janice Gerrish are volunteering to lead a family oriented walk in the State Park. Time:  10 am to noon. Dogs on leashes welcome. Dress for the weather. We will have maps of the park. Where we walk and what we talk about will be weather dependent, the abilities of the group and trail conditions. We will start in front of the...

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New Rehabilitation Proposal for Saint Edwards Seminary

Public Meeting Recap for Saint Edward August 25, 2015. Kevin Daniels says he would 1. Save the building 2. Find an adaptive re-use. His idea is a grand lodge similar to those in national and State Parks. There would be about 200 lodging rooms. The developer would draw up the plans, estimate costs and find an interested backer. Part of the proposal involves a land exchange. Daniels would buy the 10 acres of the McDonald land for the State Park in exchange for the 8 acres surrounding the Seminary and other buildings –to get same value. The buildings would be sold, not leased. Such a change in status, from State Park to private commercial property, would require a long process involving: NEDA, a federal process, the State Park System (who do have the power to buy and sell land through their 2013 Real Estate Policy Update), and a zoning change by the City of Kenmore. One of the big questions was if the Seminary Building would remain on the Historic Register and how much of the original structure would remain .It was insisted that the historic aspects would remain, following the guidelines of repurposing of Historic buildings which I felt was a broad generality. Another big unknown that has halted past potential developers is the amount of money involved, with an estimated cost of the development over $50 million....

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