The construction of new territories and buildings within the Adirondack region must always be controversial. With the regulations that exist and the strict rules that are laid out in the New York State Constitution, there is little to no room for building much industry-altering architecture. If a big change is to be made in terms of a new project in the Adirondacks, everyone is obviously going to have their own opinion on the matter. Some may support renovations and new constructions that bring more people into the area, and some will oppose this, saying that it disobeys the constitution, destroying the “forever wild” clause. However, there are things that have been made part of the region that relate to the history of the Park, one of those things being the Olympic Village. The Olympic Village has been a staple to this region ever since it was built in 1932, and when the games were held there in 1980, it only evolved the value that this special place held within the park. 

This is an image of the plan for the new Olympic Facilities in Lake Placid. 

Recently, there have been developments to reconstruct the old Olympic Center and expand it into the heights of the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. Back in April of 2021, the Olympic Regional Development Authority Board of Directors approved a more than $32.9 million renovation of the Olympic Center Link Building. This building connects the 1932 and 1980 ice rinks together on a section of Main Street. There will be a few other renovations to the Olympic Park that total over 67 million dollars. “This is going to make it a destination with premier visitor space,” Olympic Regional Development Authority CEO Michael Pratt said. “This is going to be a must-visit location.”

This being such a large change in the history of the park will definitely stir up some of the residents, some of which will be upset that they are taking the old history out of the land, just as they did with the natural functions of the town when they built the village back in 1932. In fact, in the most recent chapter of Phillip Terrie’s Contested Terrain, there was a section in chapter 7 regarding the building of the original Olympic facilities. There was a mentioning of the bobsled course and the construction of that within an area with forest. The response of the court as to whether or not the course could be built there was a hard no because the result of this would have been the clearing of many trees, violating the clause saying that this would drive the wilderness out of the area.  

I am excited to see what the new construction of the Olympic village brings to the region, and hopefully, it will bring more excitement than regret and grief.

Izzo, Elizabeth. “Https://Www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/News/Local-News/2021/04/Olympic-Center-Link-Building-to-Be-Redone/.” Adirondack Daily Enterprise, 24 Apr. 2021.