Renovations begin on Cincinnati Nature Center’s historic Groesbeck Estate

Cincinnati Nature Center celebrated the start of $2 million in renovations to the historic Groesbeck Estate, future home of the Center for Conservation & Stewardship, with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony May 23.

Built in 1920 by Grace and Glendinning Groesbeck, the 10,000-square-foot Tudor Revival home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is set amid the trees of the Nature Center’s Rowe Woods property in Milford.

As the first of its kind in Ohio, the Center for Conservation & Stewardship will serve an array of audiences, including homeowners, students, research scientists and municipal employees. The center aims to facilitate partnerships, provide education and training, and develop resources to engage, inform and enable people and organizations to become better stewards of the land and water.

Among participants in the celebration were Paul Haffner, CNC board vice president; Andy Schaub of ArchitectsPlus; Bill Hopple, CNC executive director; Tom Niehaus of Connect Clermont; and Kristin Weiss, executive director of Green Umbrella.

“With renovations expected to be completed by spring of 2017, the new Center for Conservation & Stewardship will create a regional hub for land and water conservation and have a critical impact on our community,” said Hopple.

The Groesbeck Estate has several noteworthy features, including terraces and gardens inspired by renowned British garden designer Gertrude Jekyll and intricate interior metalwork designed and forged by metal artist Marie Zimmermann.

“It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to work on such a unique project,” said Nora Wiley, managing partner at ArchitectsPlus. “From its beginnings as a family cottage, through its years of use as a children’s summer camp, and now, becoming a Center for Conservation & Stewardship, this charming country home has continued to inspire and adapt over its nearly 100-year history.”