Beginning in the late 1990s, the Garden engaged in a community oriented master planning process. The master plan developed around the universal theme of water and created a framework for physical development that prioritized environmental stewardship and cultural expression. The first phase of the adopted master plan by Conservation Design Forum of Chicago and Atelier Dreiseitl of Germany includes the Platinum LEED® rated Visitor & Administration Center, Sustainable Landscapes, Horticulture & Maintenance Facilites, and construction of the new Parking Garden.
To view the original document, adopted by the Garden in 2001, please click the link below.
In early 2020, the Garden adopted an updated master plan. The central tenet of the original plan was the celebration of the connections between water, culture, and the environment, and an opportunity to inspire a new way of thinking about botanical gardens in an urban context. The updated plan stays true to this thinking, positioning proposed structures on the garden perimeter, and using them to inform garden expressions and expand the visitor experience, while celebrating the inherent landscape qualities (and challenges) of the 39 acre garden. The plan suggests garden typologies as a planning tool to allow for incremental growth in support of a holistic vision: Exhibition Gardens, Meadow and Wetland, Working Gardens, Education Gardens, Maintenance and Horticulture zones. Each of these typologies can be home to unique garden experiences that reinforce Queens Botanical Garden’s unique position as the place where people, plants, and cultures meet.
To view the updated master plan, please click the link below.