Queens Botanical Garden in Flushing is building an education center worth more than $30 million, with completion targeted for fall 2027. On the morning of Monday, the 26th, the garden held a hard-hat tour of the construction site for staff and elected officials. The center will include four classrooms and a teaching kitchen for adult education, among other spaces.
According to the Queens news outlet QNS, Queens Botanical Garden (QBG) invited garden staff and elected officials on Monday morning for a tour of the construction site of its new education center. The building, called the Joan N. and Norman Bluestone Education Center, will have 14,500 square feet (about 1,350 square meters) of floor space. More than $30 million is being invested, with the cost covered mainly by New York City. Construction began in June 2025, and the target for completion is fall 2027.
One side of the building will house four classrooms for school and student education programs, where activities such as planting and arts and crafts are planned. Near the entrance, there will be a flexible-use lawn and a children's cultural and exploration garden. On the opposite side, along with workspaces for staff and visitors, offices and meeting rooms, there will be a teaching kitchen for adult education and a solarium with garden views.
BKSK Architects, which is handling the design, plans to improve energy efficiency by using eco-friendly materials and installing a green roof topped with solar panels. The project aims to earn Platinum, the highest level of the U.S. green building certification LEED. Stormwater management is also part of the design. According to the original report, Queens, and the Flushing area in particular, struggles with drainage problems because of a high water table and insufficient drainage infrastructure. The center will filter rainwater through a planted drainage channel (bioswale) and send it to a retention tank beneath the site, easing the burden on the city's sewer system.
The building will also feature a public artwork created for the site by artist William Lamson. The piece is made of stone cut from the garden's bedrock and other stone brought in from elsewhere. The idea is for visitors to pour a cup of water onto the grooved stone and watch the drainage process. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. contributed $4 million to the project. He stressed the importance of responding to climate change, citing the severe flooding in Queens in 2021 from heavy rain brought by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Assemblymember Nily Rozic and City Council Member Sandra Ung are among the other officials supporting the project.
Queens Botanical Garden is located in Flushing, and the new education center will serve as an educational space for local residents. Rozic said the project would benefit not only Flushing but all of Queens and New York City. The new classrooms and the adult teaching kitchen programs will not be available until the center opens. Details of the programs and how to participate after opening have not yet been announced.