The City of Alexandria wants Betsey and H.J. Rosenbaum to know that there will still be a botanical garden built in their honor at Point Lumley Park, despite not being included in site concept plans.
The Rosenbaum family has lived near the waterfront for decades, and several years ago, the couple bequeathed $2.5 million to the city to build the garden at the park. They were surprised, however, when they saw new concept designs published by ALXnow that didn’t include a botanical garden. The plans are headed to the city’s Board of Architectural Review on May 7.
“We were concerned that the drawings to the BAR didn’t include or mention a botanical garden,” Betsey said. “We met with the city many times and don’t feel like it was a memory lapse on their part.”
She added, “Of course, it’s a bequest, so it’s only activated when we die, and we’re in our mid-eighties… We hope that other people who live down by the water will be interested in doing other things like this to support the waterfront development.”
Waterfront Flood Mitigation Project Manager Matthew Landes told ALXnow that the city appreciates the bequest, and that the submitted drawings were only a “first phase design.”
According to Landes:
The City is very appreciative of the Rosenbaum family’s generous $2.5M bequest for a future garden which is still anticipated to be located in Point Lumley Park after the bequest is received by the City; however, the timeline for receipt of this funding is uncertain. The City has not forgotten, nor ignored, this future bequest and has in fact developed the current landscape plan with the future incorporation of the garden in mind. It is fully anticipated that the turf area framed by trees, shown in red below, will be easily converted into the future garden design as conceived in the conceptual renderings developed in concert with the Rosenbaum family and as otherwise funded by the bequest funding…
The City must account for compliance with our landscape guidelines for tree canopy and site restoration post construction, and are working towards the ultimate vision with this first phase design and approval process; however, we must also avoid confusion with the community and local regulators as to what we intend to deliver in this first phase of construction based on current and available funding.
Landes sent ALXnow the following rendering, with the future area of the botanical garden outlined in red.
