March 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 47

New York City, New York

Macombs Dam Park

basketball courts, handball courts,
hen planners decided to
landscaped viewing mounds, a playswap the existing Maground, and a grandstand.
combs Dam Park with
To maximize space, planners sank
the Yankee Stadium site, park-goers
the parking garage into a moat so
were less than happy. But " we promthat the land above could be used as
ised that we would build facilities
park land. An old industrial building
that were superior to the facilities
on the waterfront was restored and
that were being usurped by the new
adapted for locker rooms, a café for
stadium, " says Charles McKinney,
the new tennis courts, a new operaprincipal urban designer for the New
tions headquarters for the parks deYork City parks department.
partment, and a children's museum.
Now, the new $35-million, 17-acre
The park also has a picnic area, a waMacombs Dam Park and Joseph
ter spray area adjacent to the Hudson
Yancey Track & Field encompass the
footprint of the old Yankee
Stadium, the rooftop of the
BEFORE
below-grade parking garage
for the new Yankee Stadium, and the shorefront of a
former industrial area. To
connect with the site's history, planners designed one
ballfield's home plate and
second base to align with
the original Yankee's bases.
In addition, the new park
features a 400-meter track, a
field for soccer and football,

AFTER

Agency head: Veronica M. White,
Commissioner
Population: 8,175,133
Annual budget: $337 million
Year agency founded: 1976,
with origins dating back to 1800s
Number of parks overseen:
1,700

River, shade structures, and more.
To design and build the best park
possible, the city selected a number
of consultants, designers, architects,
and other companies, including architect and lead designer Clarke Caton
Hintz, conceptual designer Thomas
Balsley Associates, consultant architect Wendy Evans Joseph Architects,
and engineering consultant Stantec, as
well as construction groups.
A project of this size and scope,
however, came with its share of challenges, including necessary mitigations where part of the parkland was
a former gas station. In addition, the
waterside location meant some of the
ground was unstable. As a result, the
tennis courts had to be built on pilings, which drove up costs.
Because the community was anxious to have their park back, and the
new stadium had to be operational before the old stadium was torn
down, " it made for complex scheduling, " says McKinney. In the end,
however, the community was thrilled
by the quality of new park, McKinney says. " It's important to work with
the community as you're developing
the plans to build their confidence
that what you're going to deliver will
exceed their expectations. "
For information on this year's
Parks Build Community extreme
park makeover of Houston's
Shady Lane Park, visit www.parks
andrecreation.org/2013/March/
Makeover-Magic-Park-Edition.
Carrie Madren is a freelance writer in
Northern Virginia (camadren@gmail.com).

WWW.NRPA.ORG | MARCH 2013 |

Parks & Recreation

March 2013 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2013 - Parks & Recreation