DeVeaux Woods getting a new sign

It started over the weekend with the staging of an excavator at the entrance to DeVeaux Woods State Park which had featured a block stone will and small green sign.

By Monday, white spraypaint had appeared on the grass marking utility lines. Tuesday the wall had been demolished and the site graded.

Parks Spokesperson Angela Berti said the renovation will include a new illuminated entrance with a sign and period bricks like those recycled from the carriage house for the bathrooms by the playground and dog park. The work will cost $120,000.

As for the Schoellkopf building, which formerly served as an orphanage and Niagara University dorms, asbestos has been removed. Work on roof stabilization will begin soon.

Berti said a new membrane will be installed over the flat portions of the roof as well as a temporary wooden roof to protect from water infiltration.

The next step will be a request for proposals for the building. There is no timetable but Berti said “it is happening.”

Earlier this spring State Parks officials reported a supply chain issue delayed the arrival of new doors for the Whirlpool State Park bathrooms which are expected to be open by summer.

Also, the extension of the Crow’s Nest from the Maid of the Mist Dock to Prospect Point has been delayed because costs came in higher than expected.

The new switchback path and rock scramble from the top of Lewiston Hill down into Artpark will be opening this season. Work on the Artpark lower parking lots is nearing conclusion as well.