Depot Park
Gainesville, FL
The Depot Park project began when the City of Gainesville was awarded a Regional Brownfield Pilot project grant in 1997 by EPA, Region 4. Its site consisted of 32 acres near what was formerly a downtown railroad depot. A remedial action plan was developed in 2000 to begin developing the site. Following soil decontamination, stormwater treatment, and rehabilitation of the Historic Depot Building in 2012, Depot Park was well on its way to being open for the community’s enjoyment. In 2016, Depot Park was officially completed and now features a play area with a splash pad and pavilions for event rentals, as well as areas that host festivals, runs, and musical performances.
How JBPro Served This Project
We helped our client by designing a new park facility as a signature redevelopment project for downtown Gainesville, utilizing an existing brownfield industrial site and converting it into an extraordinary public park for the enjoyment of all of Gainesville’s citizens.
Our Role
We worked closely with the City’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to prepare the final park design and to complete all of the infrastructure design necessary for the park to open to the public. As the principal consultant, we assembled a team of design professionals to assist JBPro with other design specialties, including architecture, landscape and irrigation, structural engineering, and lighting. JBPro handled the regulatory permitting for the project.
We performed land planning, civil engineering, boundary and topographic surveying, and construction inspections and administration.
The Challenges
Other consultants worked on initial master planning concepts for the project, so turning some of the original concepts into the final design reality based on field conditions, budget, and evolving City vision was very challenging. Project coordination with a tremendous amount of stakeholder interest and public participation was vital for such a communitywide public project. Designing and constructing on top of a former brownfield site with difficult soil conditions and environmentally sensitive soil caps was also very challenging.
The Solutions
We were tasked with designing according to a specific budget and worked closely with the project construction manager to ensure the budget was maintained. Public participation was vital, and multiple public meetings were held to obtain citizen input. A visioning committee was formed to participate and assist with design concepts and specific project elements. Providing thorough design drawings and detailing helped minimize construction issues. Maintaining a constant construction administration presence helped quickly deal with any field conditions and design elements necessary to maintain the project budget and schedule for the grand opening.
