You may recall the Hilton Barn in Voorheesville, which has roots that go as far back as 1898, being moved in 2016. The entire building was picked up and moved across Route 85 to save it from demolition.

“It will become an economic development driver really here in town,” said Bill Hennessy, a New Scotland Town Board member.

The Hilton Barn, which once housed more hay than almost any barn in the Capital Region, is now part of a million-dollar plan to build a park for the entire community.

“The potential is there; we just need to tap and see what direction we want to go to best serve the community,” said New Scotland Town Supervisor Doug LeGrange.

When LeGrange and Hennessy were looking for the right location to relocate the 7,200 square-foot barn, there weren’t too many places that could house a building that big and the plans to accompany it. That was until they looked across the street and decided there was no better location than beside the Albany County Rail Trail.

“Once we realized at the same time we were moving the barn, everything was coming together at that point,” LeGrange said. “We could tailor the surrounding of the barn to the opportunities the rail trail presented.”

Captain Joseph Hilton Park will stretch over 15 acres of land. The plans include an outdoor amphitheater for shows, an ice skating rink for winter, and trails that explore the natural scenery around the barn.

As the project now enters its sixth year, residents have begun to ask when they will see these renderings finally come to fruition. For now, they’ll play the waiting game.

But for residents like Keshawn Langhorn, who has seen the barn continue to develop over the last few years on his weekly walks, it’s exciting to know the end result.

“Coming down the rail trail all these years, it’s nice to see the barn finally coming together. After all these years, it’s nice to see a developer come in and do something nice with the community,” Langhorn said.

LeGrange and Hennessy know this project has been long, and they said they hear everyone’s questions. But as they roll out their final plans, they say they want everyone to know how far this project has come.

“There’s so many great possibilities, and to see them coming together is rewarding after a lot of hard work,” LeGrange said.

Project leaders say the hope is to have the barn done by the end of 2022, but the surrounding construction is still to be determined.