Gardens, office space planned for Botanical Complex

The Springfield-Greene County Park Board approved the plan Oct. 20.

Funding for the botanical garden will come from $3 million generated by a ¼-cent sales tax approved by voters in August and roughly $1 million to be raised by Friends of the Garden. Fund-raising is ongoing for an additional $2 million.

Construction will begin in about three years, unless private funds are raised more quickly than expected.

A Biblical Garden will be one of 33 distinct gardens, some of which will include walking paths near the complex’s 19,000-square-foot botanical center. The lower level of the center will have office space for the park board, the University of Missouri Extension and Friends of the Garden; the top floor will feature a lighted atrium, classrooms and meeting space.

The building, overlooking Drummond Lake, was designed by Drury University architects Jay Garrott and Bruce Moore, in conjunction with Springfield-based H Design Group LLC. The building will be owned and maintained by the Springfield-Greene County Parks Department.