Thompson Dyke & Associates, Ltd.

Thompson Dyke & Associates, Ltd. (TD&A), established in 1981, is a multidisciplinary landscape architecture, municipal planning and engineering firm with headquarters in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. The firm’s 20 full-time staff members have individual backgrounds in community planning, urban design, landscape architecture, engineering, real estate development, law, business administration, marketing and government. TD&A serves clients in the public and private sectors and is currently managing the Chicago Park District’s Buckingham Fountain Restoration Project.

Lincoln Park Lakefront Trail, Chicago

The Lakefront Trail in Lincoln Park has always been one of Chicago’s most celebrated features. With several months of renovations now complete, there are even more reasons to celebrate the crown jewel of urban trails. TD&A led the $900,000 renovation project under the direction of the Chicago Park District. Funded through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Recreation Trails Grant and the CPD, two segments totaling approximately 1.5 miles of the heavily used trail were enhanced.

Lake Bluff Village, Lake Bluff

The Village of Lake Bluff hired TD&A to develop an urban design plan based on the recommendations of its downtown plan and subsequent roadway configurations update. The urban design plan and estimate of probable construction costs expanded on the work that had previously been done and illustrated new opportunities for unique downtown green spaces and streetscapes.

Special Olympics Illinois Tribute Park, Normal

Located adjacent to Special Olympic Illinois’ headquarters in Normal, the park pays tribute to the thousands of athletes, family members, donors and volunteers who have helped make the Special Olympics such an incredible movement. The park, said to be the first of its kind, gives those special athletes a place to call their own and helps generate funds for future athletes. Editor’s note: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the sister of JFK, recently passed away. She founded the Special Olympics in 1962, and the first games were held in Chicago in 1968. Today, there are Special Olympic competitions in over 150 countries.

Tipton Park, Bloomington

Completed in 2005, the $4.3 million Tipton Park project found creative and environmental solutions for this valuable open space community amenity, including stormwater filtration and greater retention capacity for adjacent residential areas. Cohesive in its design, comprehensive in its approach and collaborative in its planning, this is a model for communities seeking to preserve parkland during residential development. TD&A recaptured and articulated the beauty of the prairie land, while creating a sensible, thoughtful space to influence future city development. The philanthropy of life-long Bloomington resident Kathleen Tipton and the vision of the city’s parks and recreation department made the effort possible.