Mayor Evans and community leaders gather in Lower Maplewood Park to celebrate the groundbreaking that marks the official start of the Maplewood Nature Center projects

Rochester, New York – With shovels cutting into the late summer soil and a crowd of community members, state officials, and city representatives looking on, Mayor Malik D. Evans officially marked the beginning of a major transformation at Lower Maplewood Park. The event celebrated the groundbreaking for three long-anticipated capital projects that promise to reshape the park into a vibrant destination for environmental education, outdoor play, and sustainable recreation.

The centerpiece of this undertaking will be the Maplewood Nature Center, a new community anchor that blends science learning with adventure-based experiences. Accompanying the center are plans for a fully modernized playground and significant upgrades to the Genesee Riverway Trail, one of Rochester’s most treasured greenway corridors.

Standing before local families and project partners, Mayor Evans reflected on what the initiative represents for the city’s future.

“The Maplewood Nature Center projects will create a dynamic and beautiful place for children and families to fully experience Rochester’s living landscape and enjoy the outdoors while learning about our relationship with the natural environment,” said Mayor Evans. “I want to thank our many partners at the federal, state and local levels who have played an instrumental role in bringing these projects to reality. By creating these opportunities to learn from nature, mankind’s oldest and best teacher, we are fulfilling our promise to realize Rochester’s full potential by serving and investing in all of our people.”

The Nature Center initiative is not just a city effort. State-level agencies have stepped up with financial resources and policy guidance, underscoring the broader importance of outdoor education and climate-conscious development. Among the project’s backers are the New York State Department of State, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

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New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley placed the project in the context of Governor Kathy Hochul’s statewide push to encourage healthier lifestyles and reconnect families with the outdoors.

“The Maplewood Nature Center will continue the transformation of Rochester’s Genesee River waterfront into a place where residents and visitors alike can learn and play. This project brings Governor Kathy Hochul’s call to ‘get offline, get outside’ to life by creating an opportunity for everyone to step away from screens and experience the beauty of Rochester’s natural environment.”

DEC officials echoed that vision, while highlighting the project’s contribution to resilience in the face of climate change.

“DEC commends the City of Rochester for their efforts and partnership culminating in the groundbreaking of this exciting new Nature Center, which will offer visitors a place to enjoy the outdoors, explore nature trails, and embrace conservation and the environment,” said DEC Region 8 Regional Director Timothy P. Walsh. “DEC supported the Maplewood Nature Center through New York State’s Climate Smart Communities program, which advances local climate action to complement the State’s climate change adaptation and mitigation initiatives addressing extreme heat, damaging flooding, severe weather, and more. Thanks to the innovative design, Maplewood Park’s new shade structure will help keep the community cooler during extreme heat events.”

For NYSERDA, the collaboration represents another opportunity to weave energy efficiency and clean power into civic development.

“NYSERDA is proud to partner with the City of Rochester and other state agencies on the transformation of Lower Maplewood Park. The clean energy measures incorporated in this state-of-the-art educational center along with the park upgrades will serve as an environmentally- and community-focused resource for Rochester residents and visitors to enjoy,” said Doreen M. Harris, President and CEO of NYSERDA.

Beyond the bricks, beams, and budgets, city leaders emphasized that the Nature Center’s design reflects the voices of young people. The original concepts for both the Center and Rochester’s Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights (COBOR) emerged from conversations with local youth groups. The city’s Youth Voice One Vision program, the Seneca Park Zoo’s Urban Ecologist Program, and advocates from Cities Connecting Children to Nature all played a role in shaping what the community wanted this space to look like.

COBOR establishes a simple yet ambitious promise: every child, regardless of their background, deserves the right to play outside and engage with nature. The Maplewood projects, officials say, will bring that promise to life in a concrete and lasting way.

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The most ambitious of the three initiatives, the Maplewood Nature Center, will turn an existing city-owned building and its surrounding landscape into a hub of discovery. Inside, families can expect interactive exhibits, indoor classrooms, and meeting rooms. Outdoors, the design calls for sensory gardens, green infrastructure features, and a pond repurposed as a living laboratory.

Once completed, the Center will host summer camps, environmental workshops, and school programs that align with the city’s broader goals for youth engagement. It will also extend the scope of the ROC the Riverway program, giving Rochester residents another reason to connect with the Genesee River and its ecosystem.

The financial foundation for the project is significant. Funding comes from multiple streams, including $5.5 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act allotment, $3.1 million from the City of Rochester and DEC, $342,000 from NYSERDA, and $975,000 from the Department of State.

A team of architects, engineers, environmental consultants, and contractors—many based in Rochester—has been assembled to bring the vision to life. From design experts at Architectura, P.C. and Environmental Design and Research, to contractors like Garden Grove and Hewitt Young Electric, the scope of professional collaboration underscores the size and importance of the project.

Equally important for neighborhood families is the new playground, which will replace aging equipment with a modernized and inclusive play space. Designers are working to honor the park’s historic landscape while ensuring the new facilities reflect today’s safety and accessibility standards.

The city is investing $1.31 million into this playground through a combination of Community Development Block Grant funds and municipal contributions. The project team includes city engineers, recreation consultants, and design experts from Environmental Design and Research. Titan Development Inc. has been tapped as the prime contractor.

The third piece of the initiative focuses on the Genesee Riverway Trail, a recreational corridor that weaves through much of Rochester and provides direct access to the Genesee River’s natural beauty. Planned improvements will modernize three key trail sections between Lower Falls Park and the future Nature Center.

Highlights include resurfacing unpaved areas, adding an alternative trail route via the U.S. Route 104 pedestrian bridge, and building a fully accessible connection to the Maplewood Rose Garden. The city has committed $2 million for these upgrades, with Ramsey Constructors serving as the lead contractor.

Officials were quick to note that none of these projects exist in isolation. Community partners—including the Rochester City School District, the Rochester Museum and Science Center, the University of Rochester, and the Maplewood Neighborhood Association—have signed on to integrate programming and promote use of the new facilities. The Seneca Park Zoo, which already plays a central role in environmental education for local students, is another prominent partner.

The projects are scheduled to be completed by summer 2026, a timeline that city leaders say is ambitious but achievable given the collaborative energy behind the effort.

As the groundbreaking ceremony wrapped up, many in attendance lingered at the site, envisioning the changes soon to come. The symbolism of turning soil was not lost on those who see the Nature Center and accompanying projects as a way to plant deeper roots for community well-being.

By 2026, Lower Maplewood Park will not only look different—it will function as a gathering place where education, recreation, and environmental stewardship intersect. For Rochester, the transformation signals more than just new infrastructure. It reflects a larger commitment to making nature accessible, to preparing young people for a future shaped by climate change, and to ensuring that every corner of the city has spaces where families can thrive.