New Cheyenne Botanic Gardens "Grand Conservatory" Truly Grand

Tina Worthman, Community Relations Manager at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, says the $12 million dollar Grand Conservatory now under construction will be a tourism magnet and will outshine facilities in cities many times the size of Cheyenne.

   "This is a grand facility and Cheyenne's taxpayers who funded it through the sixth-penny tax will see a great return on their dollar," she said, "as we will pay for part of its upkeep through activities like charging for holding weddings in the building."

    Taxpayers two years ago okayed a $16 million tax for the building and surrounding parking and landscaped areas. That amount includes $2 million for an ongoing maintenance fund and $2 million for road work around the building.

    "It should be finished in the fall...the October-November timeframe, but we probably won't have a grand opening till next Spring (2017)," she said. Club member Jerry Crader is on the CBG's "Friends of the Garden" board, and he described the new building as having great tourism potential as well. "It will be a grand space we can be very proud of," Crader said, "and I'm going to reserve a chair in a corner of one of those beautiful spaces to relax in."

    ----