Two or three developers came in, made some
plans, and then backed out. Ultimately, Pratt
said, the City decided to be its own developer
and hired Ayres Associates to assist with
master planning through final design of the
$20 million infrastructure build-out, including
landscape architecture, site civil and roadway
design, traffic engineering, and construction
observation services.
City Administrator Michael Golat said a
robust public outreach process included using
principles from the nonprofit organization
Project for Public Spaces (PPS) to guide the
design, creating an accessible, lively, sociable,
and comfortable space.
“We had a lot of people with good experience
and vision and strong personalities that were
really passionate about making this something
really special,” Golat said. “That was a good
struggle – it helped us end up in a good
place with a good project. I had an incredible
supportive City Council with good vision
and leadership that really helped keep the
momentum and keep the direction. Ayres was
the guiding force in the process of getting public
input and coming up with a cohesive vision for
how the park and development would be laid
out and how it would meet the principles put
forth by the Project for Public Spaces.”
As backbone streets were built and work
began on public and commercial sites, Golat
said people began to see the City’s vision for
the development. The City established a TIF
(tax incremental financing) district for the site,
which also helped attract businesses. Kwik Trip,
a regional gas station and convenience store,
was the first business to take the leap of faith
and build at River Prairie. The site now has
a long-term-stay hotel, upscale apartments,
numerous restaurants, and the City’s River
Prairie Event Center, which also houses the
City’s Parks and Recreation Department.
“River Prairie provided the opportunity for
Altoona to showcase their city and build a new
downtown from scratch,” said Lisa Fleming,
Ayres’ project manager for the development.
“You can tell by the number of people that go
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there daily that they’ve succeeded.”
More than a Business Park
What makes River Prairie more than just
another business park is the intentional focus
on making the public park an integral part of
the site. Guiding the design from the start was
the PPS placemaking concept of the “Power of
10,” which states that people are more likely to
spend time in a space if it provides at least 10
things for them to do. River Prairie has that –
and more.
Having a music venue was a part of the City’s
vision; the design incorporates performance
space for live entertainment and retaining
walls/tiered lawn space for spectators. A
summer concert series called Rock’n on
the River brought visitors in droves each
Wednesday evening in 2018 and is continuing
this year, and country music is planned for
Mondays in 2019. The venue provides an
intimate setting for smaller gatherings but can
accommodate larger acts with larger stages.
“We worked with the Ayres team to model
what it would look like when an act brought in
a big stage and crash gates around the stage
and how it would impact seating and sight
lines,” Clements said. “We made it as flexible as
possible but also a desirable location for people
to perform.”
River Prairie’s custom-designed playground –
featuring timber play cubes, balance beams,
wooden “fingers” to play tag in, and a slide –
blends the natural feel of railroad timbers with
the river prairie theme and modern lines. An
artificial (but natural looking) stream bordered
by stylized native prairie plantings weaves
through the space, continuing the “river prairie”
design while offering the calming sound of
moving water. A splashpad offers summertime
water play, and industrial-looking fire pits made
of corten steel offer year-round warmth.
“You envision it and build it and hope for the
best, but until it’s done, you really don’t know
how it’s going to get used,” Golat said. “I was
really surprised by how busy the stream and
splashpad were during the summer last year