Ampleforth Park
The park's unique site characteristics were a crucial design factor, as it was planned as a neighborhood park between the cities of El Paso and Horizon City, TX, due to its proximity to residential and future civic entities in this developing area. A playground, sundial plaza, benches, tables, and a small amphitheater are among the amenities.
One of the project's goals was to maximize the utilization of the existing disturbed areas by creating additional spaces and services. The existing arroyo and its native vegetation were protected, and a rain garden and wildlife drinker were built to utilize the water before it was diverted outside of the park site, working closely with engineers to accommodate the water flows. The natural slopes gave the ideal location for terraced landscaping with built-in seats, a big lawn space, and connections to existing local trails, which give a venue for a variety of activities throughout the day.
Residents in a part of El Paso County that now lacks parks will benefit from a playground, sand play areas, and a sundial in the plaza. The land had previously been utilized for ATV and motor bike trails, and the linkages to these trails have been maintained for walking, running, or bicycling until the latest subdivisions were developed.
COA Shelter Pet Memorial
Sites Southwest led a multi-disciplinary team to instill new life at “Corky” Park in Horizon City Texas. The Park, adjacent to the future town center, functions as the Town’s central park. Critical to the community’s public events, whether “Music in the Park” or the Christmas Tree lighting, the park now has a central plaza, plaza style skatepark, a multi-use paved trail, upgraded baseball and softball field, a new restroom building, multiple play structures, an embankment slide, outdoor sport courts, site furnishings, new trees, shrubs and irrigation system. Twenty-two existing mature trees were saved, providing much needed shade in this desert climate. Green Infrastructure techniques such as rain gardens, and integrated stormwater harvesting are featured throughout.
The city of Las Cruces’ East Mesa Recreation Complex is an 8.5-million-dollar complex being planned and designed near the city’s Lohman Corridor, east of I25. Sites Southwest, as a partner with Wilson & Company, is master planning and designing the complex. This ambitious project went through a very complicated master plan process that included the development of a Public Information Plan because of the varying groups interested in the project. The groups included sports leagues, pickleball activists, open space advocates, nearby residents worried about losing views to the organ mountains, trails and biking supporters and the BLM (the lands the complex will be built). The complex includes two access roads planned to disturb as little desert as possible, eight soccer/football fields, eight baseball fields, 16 pickleball courts, trails, a traditional park and amphitheater embedded in the pristine desert, concessions and restrooms and a greenway promenade that links the facilities.
In 2017, Sites Southwest created four spray parks for the City of El Paso. Our design talents were integrated into existing parks in these design-build projects. These well-liked splash pads demonstrated our abilities to assess and select a site, as well as develop a successful project from concept to execution. Splash pad position, theme and color selection, spray form determination, and park facilities were all part of a stunning design that featured careful placement and creative design. Lighting, site amenities, showers, and shade structures were also created by Sites Southwest to match the spray park motif. As a result, four unique locations can be found across El Paso that are appreciated by both children and adults.
Hobbs City Park
Hobbs, New Mexico's first City Park was built in 1957. It was the first park built in Hobbs and now serves as the city's downtown park. The park was redesigned and redeveloped by Sites Southwest and Wilson and Company. The goal was to link the nearby residential and institutional land uses. As an event space, the park includes streetscapes, a central promenade with "rooms," splash pads, an art space, a pavilion, courts for food trucks, playgrounds, picnic areas, and a walking path through a recreated southern plains ecosystem. Our team planned and designed this project in collaboration with the City and the Maddox Foundation to revitalize the neighborhood and provide a park and streetscape that would instill civic pride in the city and its residents.
Joey Barraza & Vino Memorial Park
This 28-acre all-inclusive park on El Paso's north side will be the continuation of an existing park previously known as Northeast Regional Park. Sites Southwest transformed an empty lot into the Joey Barraza and Vino Memorial Park. The team created a trail to connect both phases of the park in order to connect to the existing park. Existing features such as skate parks and sculptures will be integrated into the new plazas, championship soccer fields, a dog park, walking trails, public restrooms, a rentable shelter, futsal (hard court soccer) court, landscaped parking lot, canopies over existing playground, benches, tables, ADA accessible amenities, and sitting areas around the skate park. As a result, the community will have a modern, expansive park where they can cheer on their soccer team or enjoy a picnic at one of the shaded tables.
Moms on Board All Abilities Playground
Moms on Board (MOB), a non-profit organization based in El Paso, TX, hired Sites Southwest to provide master planning and design services for an all-inclusive park centered on the small lake at Ascarate Park in central El Paso. (MOB) is a grassroots community group dedicated to creating fun and safe city amenities.
The Park will feature playgrounds, a carousel, a splash park, and quieter elements such as sensory tunnels, a native and edible plant demonstration garden, and calming water features for children. The areas are zoned to ensure that activities do not interfere with one another and that all activities have equal access and use. All areas are ADA compliant and will be a welcome addition to Ascarate Park, not only for residents with special needs children, but also for visiting families who bring their children to El Paso for doctor visits or treatment.
Haddox Family Park
Sites Southwest led a multi-disciplinary team in the design for Haddox Family Park (formerly Radford Park). The park is nestled into a natural hillside just outside the southwest corner of Fort Bliss, TX in El Paso, TX, and provides bi-level views of El Paso and Juarez, Mexico. An escarpment's natural level change provides space for an open-air amphitheater, overlook, and a ground slide. Protected native areas within the park, storm water management, and LID techniques such as water harvesting swales and check dams provide stormwater holding capacity for native flora and the birds and butterflies that nest here during small rain events. Reclaimed water (purple pipe) from a nearby tank and on-site pump is used to irrigate the park.
Residents, families, and groups of friends can enjoy a variety of amenities such as playgrounds, a dual service basketball and hard-court soccer court, sand volleyball, outdoor exercise equipment, benches, and covered picnic tables in their spare time. Radford Park has something to offer both residents and visitors, whether it is a weekend organized sport game, an educational hike with historical interpretive signage guiding you through the history of Fort Bliss, or a quiet evening overlooking downtown.
Ralph Edwards Park
The Ralph Edwards Master Plan was intended to provide a basic guide for redevelopment to make the park more maintainable and to lay the groundwork for an irrigation system design to replace the park's current irrigation system. The master plan was not intended to rethink the park's design, but rather to build on and improve what the park already has going for it (with a limited budget).
Several issues were addressed during the master planning process. To make maintenance and access to the park easier, the team concentrated on simplifying sidewalk layout and leveling grading. Second, parking areas in the park were formalized to provide accessible parking and a defined edge between vehicular and pedestrian traffic. We proposed a more seamless approach to providing the edge, which would protect the park from vehicular traffic while still allowing for vehicular and pedestrian traffic to coexist during the farmers market. Parallel parking was proposed around the perimeter, as well as two new parking lots, one of which will double as a location for farmers market stalls. The master plan was well received, and it was decided that Sites Southwest would proceed with phase one construction documents. Phase one of the park will include regrading and re-sodding the turf areas, as well as broadening sidewalks adjacent to turf areas and possibly a new gazebo and central plaza if project budget allows.
South Valley Pool
Wilson & Company and Sites Southwest created a master plan for the South Valley Complex, a recreation complex and mixed-use facility in Albuquerque's South Valley, followed by Phase 1 construction drawings. The recreation components are being designed after Phase 1. The ambitious project's goal is to build a cohesive and functional world-class complex from non-contiguous existing facilities. An existing senior center, library, and pool will be combined with a sports complex and playgrounds separated by an acequia and other open space in the project. The project also includes New Mexico's largest splashpad, new playgrounds, a bandstand, trails, plazas, walkways, and additional parking. The team collaborated with the client and stakeholders to develop a phased approach that allowed the splash pad and pool to be built and operational by the grand opening deadline while utilizing the existing facilities and bathrooms until funding for Phase II became available.
South Valley Gateway Park
Storm flooding is a problem that affects much of the Rio Grande Valley, particularly this south valley neighborhood in Albuquerque. The South Valley Gateway Park was designed to complement a nearby storm drainage project built as part of Isleta Boulevard improvements, as well as to serve as a park for events and family gatherings. The Albuquerque Metropolitan Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA) and Bernalillo County provided funding for master planning, design, and a public input process that determined the best possible site usage with the necessary drainage functions.
The 4.5-acre park design includes a surge pond for major storm events as well as a large public plaza for community markets and activities. Playgrounds, volleyball, bocce ball, and horseshoes courts, picnic areas, and an outdoor amphitheater are among the recreational options. A maze garden, nature walk, and artwork along the site walls are examples of passive recreational facilities.
The South Valley Gateway Park is a south valley jewel that serves as a well-drained community gathering place.
Tiguex Park
Tiguex Park has been a part of Albuquerque and its residents since its inception in the early 1970s, when it was designed by Antoine Predock. It has been redesigned to provide a lovely shaded promenade connecting Old Town and the City's three museums to the northeast. Tiguex Park is not only a neighborhood park with playgrounds, ball courts, and soccer fields; it also serves as a focal point for Old Town Fiestas and a gathering place for the greater Albuquerque metropolitan area. Sites Southwest reviewed the context, street crossings and linkages, and programmatic needs to redesign this special place. This analysis was used to assist in the development of a spatial framework for the new park, including the activities and uses that define the immediate park context. The new design restored the soccer fields as a dual use with an amphitheater, integrated water conservation strategies with seat walls along the park's edges, improved safety and visibility by opening up the park's berms, and updated the park's orientation and connection to its neighbors: neighborhoods, the Museum District, Mountain Road, and the Sawmill Area. Sites Southwest created a series of aesthetic elements to make the park more identifiable, highlighted by the iconic gateway monuments fabricated with New Mexico Travertine that linked the design to the building forms of the Albuquerque Museum. This winning combination, along with gorgeous and sustainable landscape design, has proven to be a huge success for this beloved Albuquerque Park, ensuring that future generations can enjoy it.
Vocational Park Pond
This fenced-in stormwater drainage pond adjacent to a High School and Middle School was transformed into a creative green space with two wide flat fields, a hike/bike route, a plaza, a playground, and landscaping to allow the public to enjoy their new park.
Sites Southwest built two new flat fields that double as open grass spaces and enhance the view of the fields with plazas, tables, chairs, trees, and low water usage plant material in an attractive setting due to the inadequate availability of soccer fields and the huge need. Areas were seeded with adequate plant material to accommodate the projected water in the pond, which was designed in many tiers to handle the water. The lowest tier was planted with a pond mix that was developed specifically for the amount of water that would be present year-round in this region. The seed mix for the slopes is a wildflower and native grass seed mix that requires far less water. Along the park's border with Loop 375, fields were sodded and tree buffers were erected. To ensure that the park/pond is accessible to all, ADA access was built to a lower level.
