The proposed Hopkins Park improvements call for a new recreation center , basketball courts , and expanded children ’ s play area . An improved sports field will accommodate softball and soccer . The proposed community lawn and gardens facing East 17th Street are key features . A proposed new bus stop near the entrance and an extensive network of walking paths will improve access to and connection within the park .
“ There ’ s a lot of green space in this park – undeveloped space – but right in the middle of the park next to the rec center building we have an obnoxious lift station ,” Holtkamp said . “ Instead of Ayres just saying ‘ OK , we ’ re going to put it over here on the plan ,’ which maybe wouldn ’ t work , the Ayres team was very good at getting the right players involved to make sure that Toho Water Authority was OK with moving it to this part of the park or moving it over here .”
Accuracy was just as important to Panicker as it was to his client . As the primary interface with the City , he said it was important to report back what he was hearing by way of input and making sure the designers had enough input and technical basis to proceed with the design “ and also coordinate with the stormwater team and the other disciplines to make sure that what we recommended was not just pretty pictures but actual , solid design .”
“ A lot of times when we get these master plans , they ’ re pretty pictures and it ’ s like ‘ Oh , if it could only look like this ,’ but then you get into the construction phase and it ’ s like ‘ OK , that ’ s not going to work ,’ “ she continued . “ I think Ayres did a great job of making sure that it wasn ’ t just a pretty picture when it came to this lift station . They wanted to make sure where they put it on the plan was going to work , not just for the Water Authority but also for the City and for the community . That was impressive to me – they didn ’ t just move it out of the way somewhere .”
Detailed renderings provided design clarity
Ayres ’ landscape architecture team prepared multiple graphics and visuals , including some in 3D , to help the City and community better picture the various project elements .
“ The 3D graphics that we produced took the 2D design and made it into a virtual world , which helped with the client ’ s ability to communicate that to the public ,” said Chris
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