Fundraising to restore the once-opulent Folger Estate stable in Woodside can officially start. The volunteer group that has taken on the multi-million dollar task of funding the repairs of the rather dilapidated stable at Wunderlich County Park finally has in hand an indispensable piece of paper — a written agreement with the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
The supervisors voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Friends of Huddart & Wunderlich Parks at the February 28 meeting. As part of the agreement, the county will kick in for some of the drainage repairs, facility improvements and environmental assessments that need to be done. The exact dollar value of the county’s contributions is yet to be determined, said Nan Chapman of the Friends group.
Restoring the main stable building is expected to cost $3.3 million, according to Ms. Chapman. Once that particular hurdle is passed, the group plans to raise another $1.9 million to fix up surrounding outbuildings and create an endowment for programs and ongoing operations. It is still used as a public horse-boarding stable.
“We are so fortunate to be able to have the county join us in this undertaking,” said Susan Lang, the stable project’s co-chair. “The scope of the project is so large that there’s no way we could accomplish our goals without (the supervisors’) encouragement and assistance.”
Built in 1905 by San Francisco architectural firm Schulze & Brown, the distinctive-looking stable became the possession of the county when the Wunderlich family donated it in 1974. It earned a place on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
