The 4th Street Revitalization of the Village of Los Ranchos transformed the corridor into an economic and civic hub for this small municipality. The project includes both master planning and design. Residents, merchants and visitors benefited as this thoroughfare was transformed into the neighborhood spine—a complete street with restaurants, commerce, sidewalks, landscaping, and civic spaces.
This revitalization strategy and master plan focused on the commercial corridor along 4th Street through the Village of Los Ranchos. The project focused on strategies that could promote the commercial revitalization of the businesses in the corridor while encouraging a mixed land use pattern.
The market study plan provided information regarding community demographics and retail expenditure potential as well as background information on local businesses.
Following the conclusion of master planning efforts, the project team moved on to the total redesign of the corridor. A sense of the community’s unique history and culture was integrated into the redesign using materials, design motifs and a complete streets approach to design.
12th & Central Roundabout
Sites Southwest was the Landscape Architect for the City of Albuquerque's 12th St. Streetscape and Menaul Extension Roundabout and Streetscape projects.
The streetscape aesthetic and landscape concept are heavily influenced by the Rio Grande Valley's long history of diverse cultural settlement. Native Americans, Hispano farmers, and Victorian-era railroad merchants have all lived in this area at some point. The streetscape is meant to reflect that rich heritage. Custom design elements, site furnishings, materials, and plant palettes all contribute to a one-of-a-kind and vibrant design.
Butterfield Trail
Sites Southwest designed a new identity for this industrial park in El Paso, TX, with design concepts that improved walkability and ADA accessibility, better managed vehicular movement, and provided a cohesive design and theme. An overall design plan that included street trees and an ADA accessible walking/hiking/biking trail with pedestrian crossings, colors, and theming that exemplified Butterfield Trail was well received. Innovative designs were implemented to create a seamless transition between the old and new landscapes.
A secure walking surface and the recycling of on-site existing materials into the new project provided a creative solution for the trail system, resulting in an attractive yet relatively inexpensive walking/biking path. Traffic calming devices such as roundabouts, street narrowing, and mid-block crossings are also visible throughout. A road diet, or narrowing of very wide streets, provides the right of way for new trails and future small linear parks without interfering with necessary semi-truck traffic. These features are all integrated into a thematic Old West trail feel, complete with trails, small bridges that cross the stormwater conveyance system, and a dry riverbed running throughout.
The Coal Avenue Commons project, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts' Our Town initiative and matched by local funds, will combine local arts and culture to revitalize downtown Gallup. Coal Avenue is the result of years of work by the City of Gallup, McKinley County, gallupARTS, Gallup Main Street and Arts + Culture District, the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments, the McCune Foundation, and the state's only Business Improvement District. The goal of this project is to create a flexible, creative, and achievable design with construction-ready documents for an artful, business-friendly, community-inclusive downtown event street, fueled by a robust and innovative public engagement process. It exemplifies a true Creative Placemaking project that seeks long-term social and economic change.
Sites Southwest was commissioned by the City of Las Cruces and the Downtown Partnership to develop a vision and revitalization strategy for the downtown area. The redevelopment strategy included plans for a new civic plaza and government office buildings, as well as attracting specialty retailers and service providers and enhancing downtown’s role as a cultural and arts center. According to the vision, capital improvements included a new city hall, a new Federal Courthouse, and a new main street. The new Main Street features special paving in areas that can be closed off for special events. Permanent shading elements adjacent to the new plaza will allow it to be easily transformed into a pedestrian-friendly environment for major public events.
Graphic visual simulations concepts were used as part of the design process to help community members and policymakers envision the downtown of the future. Sites Southwest also collaborated with LCDT and the City on legislative and other funding strategies.
Las Vegas Great Blocks
New Mexico Mainstreet commissioned Sites Southwest to provide planning and design services for their Great Blocks Program for Mainstreet de Las Vegas. Three blocks in Las Vegas' Historic Railroad District were involved in the project, including Lincoln and Railroad Avenues.
Railroad Avenue will be a two-lane street with parallel parking on both sides and wide sidewalks on both sides. The east side of the street is wider than the west, and it will also include a walk and multi-use path for bicycles and pedestrians. This bikeway will eventually be extended to connect with the Galleta River Trail to the south. A small sidewalk plaza and mid-block crossing at the Castaneda Hotel improves pedestrian access and the streetside entrance to this historic building.
East Lincoln Street is intended to be both a street and a popular part-time pedestrian plaza that can be closed to vehicular traffic during special events. To keep the trees alive, this tree-lined corridor uses permeable paving and subsurface wicking. To improve the pedestrian experience, the street grade along Lincoln St. is elevated, with low mountable curbs. The railroad district is marked by gateways at the Grand Ave. intersection, and steel railroad rails embedded in the roadway recall the site's history.
Throughout the project area, sidewalk extensions and paved crossings make pedestrian crossings safer.
