New York Construction Report staff writer
The $4.2 million redevelopment of Roosevelt Drive within Saratoga Spa State Park has been completed, adding pedestrian and bicycling pathways adjacent to the park’s busiest stretch of roadway.
The roadway was moved away from the park’s classical arcades, making space for a large circular patio. It’s a new gathering place to families and friends to begin their exploration of what the park has to offer.
As part of the Park of the Arts initiative, the corridor improvements mark another major milestone in the restoration of the National Historic Landmark campus. The project also expands parking for the Spa Little Theater plus the recreational and cultural attractions of the Roosevelt Campus and provides new EV charging stations.
The new Welcome Terrace, referred to as The Arcade, sits at the entrance of the Saratoga Spa State Park’s neo-classical Roosevelt Campus. It will feature a circle of benches to create the perfect spot for park visitors to socialize, relax, and take in their surroundings. For a limited time, people can adopt and dedicate one of these benches.
New stormwater management features will help protect water quality, stabilize water temperature, and improve brook trout habitat in Geyser Creek. These include installing underground stormwater chambers and porous asphalt at the expanded parking lot to filter rainwater and allow it to slowly seep back into the soil, reducing stormwater runoff and sedimentation flowing into Geyser Creek.
I am thrilled at the success of the Roosevelt Drive redevelopment. The completion of this project will enhance the city’s own ‘Complete Streets’ plan as it will link up with bikeways and pedestrian sidewalks right outside the State Park,” said Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim. “I have no doubt that local residents and visitors will be happy to take advantage of these enhancements especially during our beautiful summer months.”
The Park of the Arts initiative envisions Saratoga Spa State Park as a singular global destination for multi-disciplinary arts presentation, programming, and learning through the adaptive reuse of National Historic Landmark structures, set in a spectacular 2,400-acre natural setting. Through collaborations with cultural and educational organizations, recreational enterprises, and private businesses, New York State will create an artistic and cultural tourism destination in a class of its own in one of New York State’s flagship parks.
Funding came from New York Works capital funding as well as $1.2 million from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund.
