Redevelopment of Blunt Park

The City of Springfield wished to enhance recreational opportunities, achieve universal accessibility, and implement climate-resilient design within the 166± acre Blunt Park, which hosts the popular Stone Soul Festival held annually on Labor Day weekend.  

Challenge

The City needed a site design that could be included in state and federal grant applications to fund implementation. The design needed to be constructed in phases and needed to meet grant funding requirements.
 

Solution

GZA prepared a master plan for the multi-phase redevelopment of Blunt Park, identified a practical and affordable Phase I, and assisted with the grant application for funding. Upon the City’s receipt of $1.5M of funding from multiple State and Federal sources, the City of Springfield hired GZA to provide landscape architecture, civil engineering, and wetlands permitting services for the project. GZA services included preparation of construction documents, permitting, and construction phase services. Phase I project improvements included improved ADA-compliant walkways, accessible playground featuring poured-in-place surfacing and engineered wood fiber safety surfacing, renovated pavilion, enhanced picnic grove, memorial/seating area, water play splash pad, tennis courts, upgraded utilities, improved site drainage and stormwater management, and resilient landscaping. 
 

Benefit

Due to GZA’s practical and efficient design, the construction project was awarded to the lowest responsible bidder following state and city procurement laws, leaving enough contingency to see the project through completion. GZA performed weekly site inspections and participated in more than 16 on-site job meetings to ensure that the project was completed on time and on budget, exceeding the community’s expectations and satisfying applicable state and federal grant requirements.