Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Plan

Naylor Wellman, LLC

From introduction: "Early in the effort to rescue the Abbey, the Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Association (GLAPA) with support from the Columbus Foundation, completed two important planning documents – a Business Plan and a Master Site Plan. Business Plan: GLAPA engaged the L. F. Sloane Consulting Group, experts in the planning and development of facilities in historic cemeteries. With a critical eye, Sloane assessed the financial viability and sustainability of operating the Abbey as a functioning mausoleum. Indeed Sloane concluded that operation of the Abbey as a mausoleum is viable and sustainable via a business plan that includes offering a full range of price points and entering into operating and sales agreements with key entities in the industry. GLAPA accepted Sloane’s recommendations and is working on implementation. See Appendix A for the Business Plan, and Chapter 5 – Implementation. Master Site Plan: The Columbus Foundation also supported development of a Master Site Plan showing transformation of the grounds into a formal garden stylistically compatible to the building and revenue producing through creation of scatter gardens and installation of columbaria. GLAPA engaged Franklin Park Conservatory to develop a vision and guided the group through feasibility/planning and implementation, including hiring a landscape architect and production of a conceptual site plan. See Appendix B for the Master Site Plan. As enthusiasm for the project grew, GLAPA began to seek funding for various projects through local fund-raisers and grants. It became obvious that a Preservation Plan was needed to permit an organized approach to preservation and rehabilitation of the Abbey, which will undoubtedly require years to complete. GLAPA assembled a team of preservationists, both professional and nonprofessional, architects, engineers, designers, horticulturists and contractors, all of whom are well-versed in historic restoration. The group developed this Preservation Plan to outline specific design guidance to be used by the team throughout the course of the project. This guidance is the direct result of the physical and academic research conducted by the Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Association over the past five years." Funding for this project was provided in part through a fiscal year 2013 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Association (project number OH-13-009) administered by the Ohio State Historic Preservation Office (grant number P13AF00015) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Columbus, Ohio is a Certified Local Government.

Green Lawn Abbey Preservation Plan

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