GENEVA - Aurora is home to two of the final six site locations being vetted for the Finger Lakes Museum, a $50 million project that would celebrate the natural and cultural history of the Finger Lakes region and bring year-round tourism to the area.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
The Bush Farm sits just outside the Aurora village line on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon. The farm is one of two locations near Aurora that it is under consideration for the new Finger Lakes Museum.
The Bush Farm sits just outside the Aurora village line on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon. The farm is one of two locations near Aurora that it is under consideration for the new Finger Lakes Museum.
Bush Farm and Wells College are among the finalists selected from 19 proposed sites throughout the Finger Lakes region, the museum's site selection committee announced Tuesday at an event in Geneva. The other finalists are the Geneva Lakeshore, Keuka Lake State Park, in Branchport,
Sampson State Park and the Van Riper Property, both in Romulus.
“Aurora can be a sleepy village,” said Todd Zwigard, an Aurora resident. “But I think it has the potential to handle a lot more.”
With a one in three shot of housing a museum expected to boost tourism and the economy in the entire Finger Lakes region, Aurora may soon have more to handle.
Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon, whose district includes Aurora, said the museum would be the lift needed to get struggling businesses through the winter.
“I really think we have a very good chance,” said Fearon, who added that he has admired the village ever since staying at the Aurora Inn in 1971, before he moved to the area from Kansas. “I just think Aurora is a jewel.”
The museum project began 14 months ago, when director John Adamski was inspired by cultural museums in the Adirondacks to create a similar resource for the Finger Lakes. Since April, a site selection committee has poured over the 19 possibilities, narrowing their options to just six - a significant step toward the ultimate goal, Adamski said, “to find the perfect location.”
The committee judged sites based on the property's size, the museum's ability to control the land and existing infrastructure in the community. Ideal sites had an inspiring landscape and lakeside access, said chairman of the site selection committee, Don Naetzker.
With 237 acres straddling Ledyard and Aurora, the Bush Farm property is the largest remaining prospect and the only site that does not provide direct lakeside access, though water-access points could be established at one of the three docks in the village.
Bush Farm is one of two privately-owned sites being considered. The Van Riper Property, 60 acres that connects to Cayuga Lake directly across from Aurora, is also privately owned.
Bush Farm is currently on the market to be sold, but would be donated to the museum, if selected. A lease agreement of $1 per year for 99 years has been discussed as a possible arrangement with the state if one of the state park sites is chosen, Naetzker said. The committee has not discussed lease terms with Wells College, but it is necessary that any agreement serve long-term, he said.
The Wells College site is an 86-acre area just south of the main campus that features a 25-foot waterfall, a sloping view of Cayuga Lake and a vast waterfront area.
“We offer tremendous natural resources, educational and cultural resources and opportunities,” said Ann S. Rollo, vice president for communications and college relations at Wells College. She said the college would be able to enhance the museum's educational resources and opportunities, another factor valued by the selection committee.
“There's already so much we do,” said Rollo, listing the college's environmental and physical science programs, its partnership with the Cayuga Lake watershed, and its floating classroom program.
As the committee moves forward, to hopefully finalize a decision between January and March of 2010, sites will be evaluated for more specific, less essential factors, such as accessibility for year-round residents and public transportation, opportunity for expansion and cultural exploration, and its potential to become a location iconic of the Finger Lakes.
Aurora-enthusiasts say the bucolic village on the lake embodies what the Finger Lakes are all about as well, if not better, than anywhere else. The double nod Aurora received from the selection committee is testament to the village's vitality and potential, said village trustee George Farenthold.
“We're twice as excited, twice as optimistic, twice as hopeful,” he said. “We have a wonderful piece of the world here.”
Staff writer Sarah Gantz can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or sarah.gantz@lee.net
Sampson State Park and the Van Riper Property, both in Romulus.
“Aurora can be a sleepy village,” said Todd Zwigard, an Aurora resident. “But I think it has the potential to handle a lot more.”
With a one in three shot of housing a museum expected to boost tourism and the economy in the entire Finger Lakes region, Aurora may soon have more to handle.
Cayuga County Legislator George Fearon, whose district includes Aurora, said the museum would be the lift needed to get struggling businesses through the winter.
“I really think we have a very good chance,” said Fearon, who added that he has admired the village ever since staying at the Aurora Inn in 1971, before he moved to the area from Kansas. “I just think Aurora is a jewel.”
The museum project began 14 months ago, when director John Adamski was inspired by cultural museums in the Adirondacks to create a similar resource for the Finger Lakes. Since April, a site selection committee has poured over the 19 possibilities, narrowing their options to just six - a significant step toward the ultimate goal, Adamski said, “to find the perfect location.”
The committee judged sites based on the property's size, the museum's ability to control the land and existing infrastructure in the community. Ideal sites had an inspiring landscape and lakeside access, said chairman of the site selection committee, Don Naetzker.
With 237 acres straddling Ledyard and Aurora, the Bush Farm property is the largest remaining prospect and the only site that does not provide direct lakeside access, though water-access points could be established at one of the three docks in the village.
Bush Farm is one of two privately-owned sites being considered. The Van Riper Property, 60 acres that connects to Cayuga Lake directly across from Aurora, is also privately owned.
Bush Farm is currently on the market to be sold, but would be donated to the museum, if selected. A lease agreement of $1 per year for 99 years has been discussed as a possible arrangement with the state if one of the state park sites is chosen, Naetzker said. The committee has not discussed lease terms with Wells College, but it is necessary that any agreement serve long-term, he said.
The Wells College site is an 86-acre area just south of the main campus that features a 25-foot waterfall, a sloping view of Cayuga Lake and a vast waterfront area.
“We offer tremendous natural resources, educational and cultural resources and opportunities,” said Ann S. Rollo, vice president for communications and college relations at Wells College. She said the college would be able to enhance the museum's educational resources and opportunities, another factor valued by the selection committee.
“There's already so much we do,” said Rollo, listing the college's environmental and physical science programs, its partnership with the Cayuga Lake watershed, and its floating classroom program.
As the committee moves forward, to hopefully finalize a decision between January and March of 2010, sites will be evaluated for more specific, less essential factors, such as accessibility for year-round residents and public transportation, opportunity for expansion and cultural exploration, and its potential to become a location iconic of the Finger Lakes.
Aurora-enthusiasts say the bucolic village on the lake embodies what the Finger Lakes are all about as well, if not better, than anywhere else. The double nod Aurora received from the selection committee is testament to the village's vitality and potential, said village trustee George Farenthold.
“We're twice as excited, twice as optimistic, twice as hopeful,” he said. “We have a wonderful piece of the world here.”
Staff writer Sarah Gantz can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or sarah.gantz@lee.net
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