A Historic Phoenix Rises from The Ashes On The LI Sound Shore

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — When the Wildcliff house was destroyed by fire, New Rochelle lost a standing testament to the city's history. Now, the property is on its way to becoming a cornerstone of community redevelopment plans.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Monday to celebrate the unique new use of the historic Wildcliff waterfront property that was nearly destroyed by fire in 2018 and the start of construction on a community greenhouse project.

Wildcliff was an 1855 Gothic Revival style cottage next to Hudson Park constructed with stones mostly quarried in Westchester County. It was given as a gift to the City of New Rochelle by the Julius Prince family in 1940. After the city used it as office space, several not-for-profits such as Wildcliff Natural Science Center, East Coast Performing Arts and Wildcliff Center for the Arts used the space until it eventually lay dormant. It was listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 2002 and is a locally designated site.

But in November 2018, the property was destroyed by a fire started by four middle school students, leaving behind only the foundation and stone exterior walls.

SEE ALSO:

• Fire Destroys Historic Wildcliff Home
• Historic Mansion Fire Still Smouldering
• Arrests Made In Devastating Wildcliff Fire

An 11-member advisory committee was formed in 2019 to explore options for the property's adaptive reuse that would save the iconic stone gables and add modern amenities, along with an open-air events pavilion.

"We are pleased to celebrate the rebirth of this magnificent property. When construction is complete, it will become a destination event location with a marvelous connection to Hudson Park," Bill Zimmermann, the city's retired Parks and Recreation Commissioner and Special Projects Consultant, said in a statement launching the ambitious project. "From tragedy, this project yields a valuable, adaptive reuse design that enriches a vast array of community benefits for many years of enjoyment.”

The Hudson Park Children's Greenhouse (HPCG) will join the Wildcliff property, with two greenhouse wings, offices, a lobby and storage. It is envisioned as a "sustainable and vibrant center" with activities and programs for all of New Rochelle.

“The Wildcliff and the Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse committees- each working towards their respective goals- came up with the great idea of combining the two projects on the same site, and I am thrilled that this concept came together and is being brought to fruition,” said Council Member Albert Tarantino. “We are able to give a valuable historic property a new life, avoiding demolition; and combine it with a wonderful resource. Together they make an amazing product and phenomenal destination for the City of New Rochelle, and the people of New Rochelle.”

The Hudson Park Children's Greenhouse had a committee of over 50 members who dedicated seven years to creating a resource for the community to learn about horticulture, propagation and nutrition. The group originally intended to restore the greenhouse that was over a century old. However, environmental studies showed great challenges and high costs, so the project was altered to create a new structure made of modern materials in a similar footprint in Hudson Park, next to the parking lot and near the band shell.

“We are creating our Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse buildings, and then they create us. Likewise, we construct our circle of friends and our communities and then they construct us,” Milijana Radonjic-Ilich, President of HPCG said.

The committee has raised funds, planned, designed, incorporated and created events. The HPCG programming subcommittee has been teaching students at nearby Trinity Elementary for five years, with class sequences including seed projects, amaryllis, trees and the life cycle of corn. They also created beds at Trinity for gardening projects.

"It has been a long journey to get to this point and I am so glad to see our vision begin to be realized with the construction of our greenhouse," Karen Hessel, Secretary of HPCG said

The Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse received a $250K NYS grant through State Assembly Members Steve Otis and Amy Paulin, a Westchester Board of Legislators grant through legislator Jim Maisano for programming and New Rochelle Council grants from Al Tarantino, Liz Fried, and Ivar Hyden. Additional support came through Appleyard grants and the Sandpiper Fund.