Grant offsets Mashomack Manor House renovations
Just as Mashomack Preserve has embarked on a $1.8 million project to restore its Manor House comes word that the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation has contributed a $100,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy. The grant is specifically earmarked to underwrite the cost of rebuilding a covered porch on the south side of the building.Several years ago, the original porch was ripped out and a brick patio replaced it, according to Preserve Director Mike Laspia. The patio has always been problematic, he said, noting the renovation project afforded planners an opportunity to restore the original porch.
“The Foundation is happy to partner with The Nature Conservancy in preserving the historic Manor House,” said Board Chairman Joseph Attonito.
The Foundation was established in 1987 by Mr. Gardiner who was the 16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiners Island until his death in 2004. His interest in New York history and especially Suffolk County history inspired the formation of the Foundation.
Mr. Gardiner’s ancestors obtained Gardiners Island in 1639 as part of a royal grant from King Charles I of England.
“The Manor House is central to the operations of the Preserve,” Mr. Laspia said.
Renovations are intended to increase the ability to Mashomack’s ability to accommodate more visitors and scientists, researchers and students for extended visits. It will also increase fund raising opportunities as donors recognize how it benefits conservation and the appreciation of nature, he said.
“Mashomack Preserve is often referred to as a ‘living laboratory,’” Mr. Laspia said. It has been the site for more than 30 important research projects, he said.
“Opportunities abound for Mashomack to advance knowledge on a myriad of timely conservation topics that benefit people and nature,” he said.
Among the possibilities are projects involving forest regeneration, control of tick-borne diseases, the impact of harmful atmospheric deposition, marsh and freshwater wetlands protection, control of invasive species and shellfish and sea grass restoration, Mr. Laspia said.
Foundation Executive Director Kathryn Curran said she and her colleagues visited the Preserve many times and came to recognize that Manor House restoration would aid in bringing the history of the site to life for the many hundreds of visitors who hike trails and use the building as a learning center.
Other aspects of the project, being paid for largely through contributions, will bring the building up to code and make it accessible to handicapped visitors.
There will also be upgrades to furnaces to enable them to run on propane; added heat zones providing more even temperatures throughout the building; and improved parking and better outdoor lighting for evening visitors.
There have been two previous renovations to the 125-year-old structure in the mid 1960s when the house was renovated to convert it from a single family dwelling into a lodge. Individual bathrooms were added to each large bedroom; the dining room was enlarged and the kitchen expanded and modernized. That was when the original porch was replaced by the brick terrace.
Architects from Pospisil & Brown of Southampton designed the current changes that will be built by Reich/Eklund Construction.
Weather permitting, the aim is to complete the project in June 2016.
