Children's greenhouse under construction on Wildcliff mansion property, site of devastating 2018 arson
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- There's promising renewal at the site of a devastating arson fire on the Long Island Sound in New Rochelle. It's where a historic home was destroyed four years ago.
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported Monday, the plan is to create a place for children to learn and grow.
Support beams keep what's left of the Wildcliff mansion from collapsing while workers shore up the shell of the home built in 1852 and used by various nonprofits for many years.
New Rochelle was anguished when the 20-room mansion was gutted by fire in November 2018. That terrible fire was deliberately set by some troubled local teenagers. So, there is a poignancy in the future plans for using this property.
A groundbreaking Monday marked the start of construction for the Hudson Park Children's Greenhouse, a 2,500-square foot place to nurture children as they grow on the Wildcliff grounds overlooking the beautiful Long Island Sound.
"It's an illustration that you can draw from even the darkest experience, some light," New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said.
Bramson and many here credit educator Millie Ilich for making it happen.
"She's putting so much of herself into it," Bramson said.
Ilich has long promoted programs that expose local kids to the "get-your-hands-dirty" joys of gardening.
"Something beautiful for children to see that they plant something. A result of that beauty, then blooms and grows. I think it's great experience," Ilich said.
"This is what these children need to learn, is how to plant, how to grow healthy food, how to eat healthy and be sustainable, because this is the world that we live in, and it's so enriching to them. They just love it. They all like getting their hands dirty and mud pies and all, right?" said Greenhouse Committee Member Sharon Weekes.
Next year, they'll have a state-of-the-art facility to literally grow and learn.
As for the Wildcliff mansion, experts determined it could not be rebuilt, but the shell is being preserved and will become an open-air event space.
