Teatown Lake Res. breaks ground on $26m campus transformation

Ossining, NY On October 9, 2025, Teatown Lake Reservation, the 1,000-acre nonprofit nature preserve and environmental education center, brought together local leaders and the community for a groundbreaking of its 22,000 s/f, $26 million campus transformation. In partnership with the award-winning nARCHITECTS and landscape architect Starr Whitehouse, Teatown’s project will include a new 5,400 s/f education center that will feature teaching and education spaces in its interior, exterior deck, and green roof; renovate the existing Nature Center; and create an accessible and ecologically enhanced pedestrian campus with reconfigured access and operations.

Construction will take approximately 12–16 months, during which Teatown’s trails and programs will remain open to the public. When the new campus opens, it will stand as a model of sustainability and accessibility — one that deepens Teatown’s ability to educate, engage, and inspire the thousands of visitors who pass through its gates each year.

The ceremony featured remarks from Kevin Carter, Teatown’s executive director; Marcia Saunders, chair of Teatown’s Board of Trustees; Westchester County executive Ken Jenkins; New York State senator Peter Harckham (40^th District); assembly member Dana Levenberg (95^th District); assembly member Matt Slater (94^th District); Eric Bunge, FAIA, Amanda Morgan, AIA, of nARCHITECTS; and Gail Wittwer-Laird of Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners. 

Local elementary students joined elected officials to help commemorate this milestone symbolizing the next generations of environmental leaders that Teatown hopes to inspire through the new education center.

No Teatown celebration would be complete without its animal ambassadors. Nova, a barred owl, made a special appearance, delighting guests and reminding everyone of the living connections that make Teatown a vital part of the Hudson Valley.