Following four years of master planning and a successful feasibility study, a quiet campaign for Kingwood’s first-ever capital campaign began in early 2017. After receiving a $3M seed gift from Richard Taylor and the Taylor family, Kingwood led with a $1.5M commitment from the Charles Kelley King Trust and 100% participation with personal gifts from board members, campaign committee volunteers, and Kingwood staff. The Richland County Foundation also awarded the largest grant in its history in November 2017. The $1M grant allowed the Foundation to be a community catalyst by intentionally adding momentum to the campaign prior to the public phase which launched on December 1, 2017.

The new visitor center, the “Garden Gateway at Kingwood Center Gardens” provides:

• An accessible, welcoming location for all guests that will serve as an experiential gateway to the Gardens
• A ticket purchasing point and membership sales opportunity
• Space for orientation, information, interpretation
• A gallery for exhibits to highlight the legacy of Charles Kelley King, Kingwood, and other exhibits
• The Gateway Café with indoor and terrace seating
• The Garden Shop with adjacent greenhouse and gift shop
• The King Ballroom with break-out rooms for events and meetings with a banquet capacity of 240
• New and expanded gardens and terrace areas, including the Draffan Fountain repositioned in a beautiful garden terrace; nearly 40,000 plants, trees and shrubs will be added, including 302 unique species
• Key visitor amenities, ADA compliant pathways in the new gardens, staff offices, and conference rooms
• New and enlarged garden-setting parking utilizing bio-swales for storm water management and spaces for over 200 vehicles
• Opportunities to make greater contributions to our community’s quality of life
• A greater impact on regional economic growth and multi-destination tourism
• Expansion of education programming at all levels

The “Honoring the Past – Growing the Future” capital campaign has been overwhelmingly successful. This is largely due to the support of a small group of very generous individuals and foundations. In March 2018, a donor couple who intentionally pushed us over the original $8.5M goal stated, “With our donation, we wanted to insure this project will happen and we also wish our gift to inspire others to contribute so the Garden Gateway Project is completed as initially imagined.”

Kingwood was inspired and optimistically adjusted the target to $9.25M so that the Garden Gateway Project, phase one of a multi-phase master plan, would be completed as envisioned. The previously deferred Grand Perennial Garden with garden pavilion, essential facility features, and the Horticultural/Maintenance Service building addition were returned to the project. To support the horticultural department, the service building project was completed in early 2019 and funded by an additional gift from The Trust. This Garden Gateway Project is supported entirely by private funds.