Calhoun Park is a 2.5-acre park occupying one full block in a residential neighborhood, and offers large shade trees, a playground, splash pad, handball court, picnic areas, and open lawn space. 

Challenge


Many of Calhoun Park’s amenities were aging and falling into disrepair, and the overall site design required an update. At the same time, the new site design would need to incorporate recent site improvements that were in good condition. The City of Springfield needed to obtain funding for design and construction of the park redevelopment.
 

Solution


GZA’s landscape architects developed a park master plan that was used by the City to apply for grant funding. Upon receipt of funding, the City of Springfield contracted GZA to provide full design of the redevelopment of Calhoun Park. The redesigned park incorporated the existing splash pad, basketball court, and mature canopy trees, while providing new accessible playgrounds, handball court, and picnic areas in a layout that improved overall site circulation and made the park more inviting and engaging to visitors. 
 

Benefit


GZA provided a functional and playful site design which was successfully constructed on schedule and within budget. Neighborhood residents can now enjoy an accessible and state of the art playground in the shade of an existing urban tree canopy, along with handball, basketball, splash pad, and picnic areas. New walkways invite visitors to enter the park from all sides and to engage with the park’s scenic environment and recreational amenities.