Join us, February 3, 4-7 PM for a Virtual Community Interactive

It’s time to get to work! Regenerative design relies on a ground up, all inclusive process to guide the design/build team. We dug deep into the community sense of place last winter, and recently y’all were introduced to the Design/Build team. We heard fabulous stories, shared memories, and helped the design team to understand just how important Kirkside is to the region. Now we need to help imagine this project into the design phase.

This will be a 3 hour, hands on zoom workshop. Don’t worry if you arrive late or have to leave early. Your input is critical and there will be time for breaks to grab a bite to eat, throw in a load of wash, walk the dog, or put the kids to bed. We need you!

Workshop purpose statement

To unite the design-build team with all stakeholders and align around key programmatic elements by exploring the multi-layered experience and activities envisioned for Kirkside.

In a way that builds stakeholders’ roles and capacity for integrating the essence of Kirkside, Roxbury, and the surrounding region with particular ideas for the project’s program.

So that the project team understands the core links between meaningful experiences and the essence of this particular place necessary for initiating design work effectively.

Please RSVP to rieley@markproject.org

Also know, there are plenty of opportunities to help. We are expanding working groups that will help move this forward. Food Systems, Web and Social Media, Fundraising, Outreach and Promotion, Oral History Interviews, and more….so much to do! Please help by emailing rieley@markproject.org with the subject header HELP!

Kirkside Concept Paper

Workshop #0 Summary

Workshop #1 Summary

Workshop #2 Summary

A historic mansion once owned by Helen Gould, daughter of railroad magnate and Roxbury native son, Jay Gould was empty. Now it’s being reimagined as an engine – an economic engine. The house, Kirkside, is on state and national registers of historic places. It sits poised on the edge of the East Branch of the Delaware River, adjacent to a park whose manicured grounds were once the estate’s gardens. Reborn as the Inn at Kirkside, the mansion will be a welcoming destination hotel and restaurant, a school, and a hospitality incubator providing key support for the tourism industry in our region. Drawing students from BOCES, the Culinary Institute and SUNY, the Inn will provide much needed post-graduate experience for paid fellows. They’ll get hands-on experience and will be housed on site in the former guesthouse and will work with local farms and suppliers. The Inn’s other goal: economic stimulus. A thriving hub in Roxbury will encourage new businesses and create an economy where local young people no longer have to leave for good jobs. Bolstering strong interconnected communities, the Inn at Kirkside is key to MARK’s mission.

Neighboring Kirkside Park is also part of this vision. Its two historic barns were in disrepair but MARK has worked with the Town of Roxbury to renovate both. The North Barn has a new, fully operational state-certified community kitchen so local farmers and producers can create value-added products. The Inn’s fellows will be encouraged to use these and develop strong relationships to the farming community. The South Barn has been transformed into a pavilion for community and private events. Together Kirkside’s barns, park and Inn will create an interwoven model for sustainable development, anchoring businesses and entrepreneurship in the region.