Welcome Center

For 150 years, Lakewood has been a community resource and local treasure that is open to all – yet many people aren’t aware they are welcome here. To continue to actualize our vision of reimagining the role of a cemetery in modern life, we are deeply focused on issues like accessibility, sustainability and the visitor and family experience. Our historic Administration Building is beautiful, but we have outgrown the space and in many ways it’s not as functional or accessible as we’d like it to be for serving today’s families and visitors. To address this, we’re building a new Welcome Center that we believe will help us better serve families, engage with visitors and our community, and house our growing team.

The new Welcome Center and surrounding gardens will be located east of the existing Administration Building and greenhouses.

The project is estimated to be completed in early to mid-2024.

Yes! The Welcome Center has been designed to have “net zero” energy use, meaning it will produce as much energy as it uses. This is accomplished through a geothermal mechanical system, a high-performance building envelope, and the use of renewable energy created by a rooftop solar array.

Completed in 1929, our existing Administration Building is an historic treasure and beautiful example of neoclassical architecture. This building will be repurposed. We are exploring several options.

At Lakewood, meeting with families in person – and providing a comforting presence and listening ear – is critical to fulfilling our mission. While we certainly use online tools to support families remotely when needed, we can be of greatest service to families when we can see and be with them on-site. Offering more support requires expanding our team, which requires more space.

Yes, the current Administration Building, historic chapel and mausoleums will all be open regular hours during construction, with a few exceptions possible over the course of the project. Visitor parking will be oriented to the west side of the cemetery to avoid construction areas.

Visiting hours will remain the same during construction, with a few exceptions possible over the course of the project. We will post any updates on this website.

We will work with our project partners to do everything we can to ensure funeral and memorial services are not disturbed by project activity. Please contact us if you have any questions.

We will do everything we can to minimize disruption. Typically, construction will occur Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., though there may be times when it will be extended over the course of the project. Please share any questions you may have by contacting us.

Yes! We kindly ask that you orient your walking route to the west side of the cemetery during construction. If you drive to Lakewood for walks, please park farther away (west) from the cemetery entrance to allow families having funeral services and receptions in our chapel and/or Garden Mausoleum to use the space closest to those buildings. And as always, please be respectful of other visitors and give space to grieving families and services.

No – absolutely not. The area where the new building will be located was previously undeveloped and contains no graves.

The road to the east will be closed for most of the project. For help mapping an alternate route, please call us at 612-822-2171, email us or stop in to see us in our current Administration Building. The best route will depend on where the grave is located.

Our construction partner has identified areas inside of the cemetery for construction vehicles to park.

During the past few years, we have been honored to see more people visiting and walking here – appreciating a peaceful respite in challenging times. By providing more accessible spaces, paths and signage, we expect this project will improve flow and movement throughout the cemetery. And of course, our standards of reverence and respect will always remain.

Yes! We are planning several new garden areas with new trees and plantings surrounding the new Welcome Center and front entry. We also have a long-term plan to replace trees in the cemetery that were lost to the emerald ash borer, which started with 150 new trees in 2022 and more planned for 2023.

In addition to designing a building that generates solar energy and uses less resources for heating and cooling, several sustainability practices will be employed during the project’s design and construction. These include:

• using sustainably sourced building materials
• minimizing and recycling construction waste
• using landscaping materials that require less watering

As responsible stewards of Lakewood’s resources, we are working to do our part while at the same time maintaining the beautiful gardens and vistas that many families expect and value when they visit. Our current focus is on increasing trees and plant life, managing stormwater effectively, and using more organic and environmentally friendly substances and equipment, such as electric vehicles.