Preparing for the Future
In just ten short years, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens has become one of the largest public gardens in the country, ranking among the top ten percent. Our original master plan was created in 2004, based on an attendance of 40,000 annual visitors. Our buildings, infrastructure, gardens, parking, and restrooms were all sized accordingly. Remarkably, we surpassed 40,000 our second year of operation, and in 2016 our attendance hit nearly 190,000. We have welcomed visitors from 63 countries and all 50 states.
Implementation of our second master plan, which we began creating in 2012, will provide a quality experience for guests in the future. We’ve been working with the best designers and engineers in the country to ensure our plans meet or exceed all state and federal regulations. Over 200 professionals, staff, board members and stakeholders worked together to complete this comprehensive and elegant plan with four primary goals: to build capacity so we could properly serve our current and future guests; to foster year-round visitation; to strengthen programming in our key mission areas of horticulture, education, and research; and to continue to be a model for best practices surrounding fiscal and environmental sustainability.
Remaining true to our Maine roots, the master plan incorporates stone and water in undulating patterns which unify the original gardens with the new elements in the plan.