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LENOIR, NC (August 15, 2024) ⇒ The City of Lenoir is building a new teaching and learning pavilion at Unity Park & Community Gardens. The pavilion will provide covered space for programs and events in the gardens.
The pavilion will be 30 by 24 feet, or 720 square feet. It will include storage areas for demonstrations and garden preparation. The floor of the pavilion will be concrete and the roof will be corrugated metal. There will also be a private restroom for gardeners and visitors.
“We are really excited about the new teaching and learning pavilion,” said garden coordinator David Horn. “There have been some delays, but we have persevered. Construction will begin soon.”
Mr. Horn and the city staff have been working on the teaching pavilion project for about six years.
In 2019, the city partnered with Appalachian State University to develop an improvement project for the gardens. The plan called for architectural design students to design a modular pavilion, build the pavilion in sections in the classroom/lab in Boone, and then assemble the new structure on site. The App State students visited the gardens in fall 2019, spoke with Mr. Horn and staff about the project, and then returned to the university to create their plans.
“The students had some really interesting ideas and designs for the new pavilion,” said Mr Horn. “They even built small models to show us when we visited in late 2019.”
But like so many things, the COVID-19 pandemic ultimately delayed the project. Lockdown protocols in 2020 prevented App State students from completing the pavilion.
However, Mr. Horn stuck to the plans and city staff continued to seek funding for the project.
Last year, the state of North Carolina awarded the city $125,000 to build the pavilion. Mr. Horn created a design based on one of App State’s concepts. Brushy Mountain Builders submitted the lowest bid for the design.
“When completed, we will have more space for demonstrations and programs like the recent Tomato Blast event,” Mr. Horn said. “It will be a great addition to the gardens.”
Brushy Mountain Builders can begin construction as early as this Monday, August 19, 2024, and the pavilion must be completed by mid-November, barring extreme weather delays.
The Lenoir City Council approved the project during its council meeting on June 4, 2024.
Unity Park & Community Gardens was created around 2010 in partnership with Caldwell Memorial Hospital. The goal of the gardens is to encourage healthy eating and introduce gardening to Caldwell County residents. Community gardens are a great way to increase access to affordable, healthy food. Click the link below to learn more about the gardens, Unity Park & Community Gardens.
