In response to aging infrastructure and a need for additional programmatic space at one of Carmel, Indiana's most cherished public spaces, the city and its incorporated affiliate - Clay Township - decided to take a bold, community-driven step to elevate West Park with the addition of Engledow Commons and The Groves. Playing key roles in the project were Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation (CCPR) and multidisciplinary national firm SmithGroup. These new developments activate an additional forty acres of parkland while establishing a new CCPR standard for sustainable park development through a design that seamlessly knits indoor and outdoor educational programming and recreation into a diverse setting of native landscapes, interpretive garden plazas, and a mix of wet, dry, and adventure play.

Getting Started
The project's master plan was created in 2016, Phase 1 - The Groves was completed in 2019, and Phase 2 - Jim Engledow Commons was finished in 2023. This stage of the plan's implementation renovated an existing active recreation zone with a playground, splashpad, shelter renovation, family restroom addition, and connector road and trails linking to The Groves. The site is CCPR's only developed park in the western third of the 50-square-mile community, making it a highly popular destination and an important asset for residents.

Engledow Commons
CCPR and the design team actively engaged with area schools during programming and early design phases to ensure the new features of this play area would reflect the local youth's aspirations. In addition, feedback from parents yielded important insight about ways to better organize play and viewing/support areas, resulting in a "parent perch" that re-purposed an existing community shelter and restrooms into a central activity hub. This feedback also led to the reorganization of the playground and adjacent water play into a more compact, integrated layout so parents can keep an eye multiple children, regardless of where they are playing. The new arrangement also allows more seamless play between wet and dry environments, as well as more accommodating socialization for all ages.

 
Engledow Commons's new integrated playground and water play concept is based on adventure and exploration in nature. The play spaces are designed as a landform that provides structure for different activities, ages, and learning opportunities. A sinuous, story-telling path weaves through a journey of different ecosystems, from the "lowlands" of Grasshopper Plaza and along the "Ravine" spray area to the "Headlands" climbing tower and forest. Innovative play experiences include a "grassland" of climbing posts that give children the perspective of an insect. The large play tower and other play structures were provided by Berliner. Other playground elements - such as the swings, spinners, and steppers - are from Goric.

The Groves
This project transformed a forty-acre parcel west of the existing park into a vibrant extension of community space, anchored by the all-season, multi-purpose Jill Perelman Pavilion. At the heart of The Groves is CCPR's first adventure playground, which weaves KOMPAN's Robinia play systems constructed with Black Locust timber into the natural woodland setting. With its all-ages design, natural aesthetics, and popular zipline, it was composed as a destination playground that would be further augmented upon completion of Engledow Commons. Multi-use trails seamlessly connect the parcel to the existing park trail network and provide critical regional access. The Groves design established many material and operational standards for subsequent projects, including hard and soft paths, native plantings, stonework, site furnishings, color palettes, and more.

Green Infrastructure
For both areas, integrated stormwater strategies are intentionally visible near buildings, boardwalks, and plazas to engage Carmel's next generation of environmental stewards who visit the park for various camps and events in addition to students from the nearby high school who use the park as their outdoor classroom. At the Groves, site and roof drainage were intentionally routed through rain gardens and planters, which filter the water with plants specifically chosen for their benefit in a pollinator habitat. At Engledow Commons, the former playground and splash areas were reimagined as part of a natural treatment process, designed to sustainably manage and filter both stormwater and water play discharge on-site.

Challenges Overcome
Scrutiny was high for West Park when it was constructed in 2000 as the first community park developed by CCPR. Their commitment to authentic engagement with the broadest cross section of user groups - involving multiple hands-on workshops in nearby elementary schools - helped the community embrace a forward-looking plan and design for the new additions. The implemented design was shaped by these users and has become the model for all future CCPR playgrounds and park planning.

As much of the original park would remain after this renovation, it was necessary to curate a careful blending of new materials into the existing matrix. This ranged from wayfinding accents and the large stone blocks used for the scramble to the introduction of new siding and colors on the existing shelter and restroom building. A holistic approach was taken to ensure that West Park would remain one cohesive aesthetic between the old and new.

The high water table and wet soils on the site posed challenges for the intended early spring site preparation and grading activities, requiring additional contractor coordination and scheduling refinement. Adding large volumes of soil to create the play ridge in these conditions also led to additional geotechnical evaluation and monitoring to maintain the desired stability for planned structures.

The pandemic emerged during the design development phase of Engledow Commons, necessitating an immediate pivot in the project workflow for everything, from in-progress design and sample review to the bidding process. The pandemic also impacted the supply chain for several of the materials and design elements, which required the team to use staging strategies to accommodate extended lead times on some elements while accelerating others so portions of the project could open to the public earlier.

Regional Impact
Balancing the past with an eye toward the future was both an opportunity and a challenge for the design team. In the end, CCPR's strategic phasing of the two projects was a success. By first adding a nature-based adventure play experience at the Groves, residents were provided with an essential recreational alternative during Engledow Commons' construction. And, as the value of parks was amplified during the pandemic, the value of maintaining access to West Park during construction proved to be, prophetically, an immeasurable benefit to the community.