City Beat: Council reviews quarry designs

During council’s March 4 luncheon, Portland, Ore.-based GreenWorks PC and Springfield design firm Hagerman New Urbanism presented three options for the Jordan Valley Gateway Plaza, to be built on the former quarry site at National Avenue and East Trafficway St.

GreenWorks principal Jim Figurski said the three concepts – based on “natural,” “events” and “play” themes – came from a combination of design ideas and public comments collected during a series of events in 2007.

Click here to view renderings of each of the design concepts: naturalistic design | events design | play design.

The natural theme is the most minimalist, featuring a large portion of open green space sloping away from the southeast corner of the nearly 10-acre site. A mound would be built near the center of the site with short stone walls, reminiscent of the original limestone bluffs on the site, that could be used for amphitheater-style seating.

The events theme also features a large open area, which could include a running track, along with a more pronounced amphitheater space for public gatherings and a playground area.

The play theme features small hills to separate the space into outdoor rooms, along with a focal pavilion for gatherings and a large, interactive water feature.

Figurski said all three designs incorporate low-impact building techniques, such as marshland areas for on-site water handling and pervious concrete for parking.

The project is funded through $2.2 million in earmarked federal grants, according to City Redevelopment Director Mike MacPherson, who reminded council that the money could not be shifted for other uses.

Because of the unique nature of the site – a quarry filled with a mixture of soil, rock and other organic material – designers expect the land to settle on the site. As a result, the city hired Palmerton & Parrish Inc. to provide geotechnical work for the development.

“Historical records indicate there’s about 90 feet of material in that quarry,” said Palmerton & Parrish President Brad Parrish, noting that an unknown amount of elm tree brush was placed in the quarry during the 1970s, when the area’s elm trees were killed by Dutch Elm disease.

Parrish said that the settling issue has impacted the way designers view the site.

“There’s a lot of soil berms, stone benches and other items that are tolerant of movement,” Parrish said. “Along the south side, we don’t think that quarry is as deep, so that’s where you see some of the pavilions, plazas and more substantial structures.”

Parrish added that his company has placed several monitoring markers on the site, in hopes of predicting where future settlement might occur.

Despite the unique challenges of redeveloping the quarry, MacPherson said the project is essential for the continued development of the downtown and center city regions.

“Here you have a part of our town where millions and millions of dollars have been invested, and you have, to be frank, this eyesore right in the middle of all that,” he said. “This is a worthy project for that reason.”

Figurski said the next step is to gather council and public input on the design ideas; citizens are encouraged to take a survey and offer suggestions online at www.springfieldmo.gov.

The designers will then return to council in May or June with a final design incorporating the suggestions. [[In-content Ad]]