The Gathering Place is planning a $1 million outdoor venue known as The Gathering Green.

Located on 2 acres behind The Gathering Place at 715 Campus St. will be a new pavilion, concession stand, restrooms and paved walking trail.

Were looking at this as a mini Rotary Gardens but not with as many floral plantings, said Diane Pillard, chairwoman of the resource development committee at The Gathering Place.

Dave Fisher, executive director of The Gathering Place, said Milton has no place for an outdoor wedding that could accommodate 250 people at least not yet.

Weddings are the mainstay of such venues, said Joe Stadelman, president of Angus-Young Associates.

He unveiled a four-phase plan Feb. 19 to a gathering of donors and potential donors.

Its really flexible for many different types of events, he said. Its unique to the city of Milton and what it will offer.

Concerts on the Lawn, outdoor art and exercise classes and theater are just some of the activities that could take place.

When designing the space, Stadelman said, One of the first discussions we had was., How formal do you want this to be? What does it look like? What does it feel like?

The consensus of the project committee was that it should equal the building Marion Allen designed.

This turned out to be more formal, more like this building, traditional in its detailing and styling but also traditional in more of park green atmosphere, he said.

Paths within the oak grove will be paved.

Stadelman described the pavilion as a rather simple building with masonry construction, a single-sloped roof and small storage room in the back. In front of the pavilion, a small paved area will allow for dancing.

Pillard said the pavilion is tiered because a group has expressed interest in doing outdoor theater.

We tried not to put too much into this, said Stadelman of the pavilion. This is meant to be flexible, open, and because of that we arent building a lot in. Most productions bring their own equipment (sound and lighting).

The concession stand location will allow volunteers to watch events while they are working. Behind the concession stand will be restrooms.

The gazebo will be included but moved to a new location.

At the center of The Gathering Green will be a sculptural element, maybe a wind element, maybe a butterfly, Stadelman said.

Entrance and gateway elements will give the sense of arrival, which he described as, Ive left my car, Ive left the street and now Im in the park and at an event.

Other elements may include a memorial garden, screen wall with donor plaques and benches for reflection.

A 24-stall parking lot will be installed at the corner of St. Mary and Rogers streets. Currently, The Gathering Place has about 65 parking stalls.

Development of The Gathering Green started about five years ago, said Pillard. The original plan was more than $2 million and included a conference center. After deciding Milton couldnt afford that and would need a hotel, she said the plan was shelved for about three years.

Our board said, We cant leave that land vacant. Its got so much potential, she said.

The wooded area was cleaned up with the help of Rock County Jail inmates in the Rock County Education and Criminal Addictions Program.

About a half dozen meetings were held with Angus-Young to discuss development possibilities.

Before project team members from The Gathering Place announced the project, they sought financial support. About $175,000 has been pledged by businesses and individuals, Pillard said.

Much of that has already been collected, she said. We wanted to get to that point before we announced so that we were pretty confident we could make this happen.

In a year, shes hoping they raise $500,000, enough to complete the first two phases of the project.

Because The Gathering Place also has set aside funds and heard theres interest in in-kind donations, Pillard said they are at least one-quarter of the way there.

Read more:
The Gathering Green will be 'a mini Rotary Gardens' - HNGnews.com

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March 1, 2020 at 12:49 pm by Mr HomeBuilder
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