With its number of visitors on the rise, Airlie Gardens has undergone an update its facilities.

“We saw a huge increase in the visitation during the pandemic, as well as a large increase in the number of people who joined as members and major sponsors,” said Janine Powell, director of donor relations for Airlie Gardens. “The silver lining of the pandemic [which started in the U.S. in March 2020] is that people found the benefits of being outdoors, and that has continued to stay on a pretty even trend. So we have more members than we’ve ever had, and we have more visitors than we’ve ever had.”

As a result, the time was right to renovate the guest services center at the 67-acre garden attraction owned by New Hanover County.

The $682,000 project, paid for with donor money, includes upgrades to the center’s restrooms, ticket purchasing area and education space and the reconfiguring of office and storage areas.

The renovated guest services center opened in early October.