Landscape Architect Articles

Landfill Transitions to Beach Garden Park11-01-10 | News

Landfill Transitions to Beach Garden Park

By WPL Site Design

The trails were reconfigured to clarify pedestrian movement through the site and carefully coordinated with existing trees and new plant material. Twenty-nine trees were relocated to better complement the site, and over 95 percent of the proposed plants are native to the microclimate of the inland beach areas.

Formerly a city landfill, Beach Garden Park recently underwent significant improvements to accommodate community needs and an improved physical education program for Virginia Beach Middle School. The park site was the first phase of construction for the school to facilitate displaced recreational programs during subsequent school construction.

The five-acre site is positioned inland of Virginia Beach?EUR??,,????'?????<

A former landfill, just six blocks from the Atlantic Ocean and Virginia Beach?EUR??,,????'?????<

The site used to be the local landfill until a better sanitation solution accommodated the beach residents. The landfill was capped and converted into a passive recreational area for the city. The capped areas were retained as open lawn and the perimeter was populated with volunteer plant species and remnants from other city planting projects. Parking extended into the recreational space from Kilbourne Court, and a utilitarian drive made access to the local city water tower, which marks the northwest corner of the park site. An interior trail looped the perimeter of the fields and sparingly connected to the Ocean Beach Walk and other vacated utility structures. Much of the site was overgrown with little to no planting composition, and most of the pavements were failing from prolonged use and frequent flooding.

With the park headed further toward disrepair and the impending issues surrounding the nearby school?EUR??,,????'?????<

This is the 5-acre Virginia Beach landfill site as it appeared after it was ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Upgrading the park to accommodate regulation play for middle school field sports will allow the school to continue its outdoor physical education program during the several years it would take for the replacement of the school. Like many school replacement projects, the new school was built atop the existing ball fields and beside the existing school. Once the new structure is completed, the existing school will be demolished to make room for the new athletic fields. In the interim, the school has been using the ball fields at Beach Garden Park, only a five-minute walk from the school.

The design for Beach Garden Park was a collaborative effort between the architect, the engineer and the landscape architect. With guidance from the Parks & Rec and Virginia Beach City Public Schools, a feasible design program was developed to ensure city and school needs were met. One of the first critical elements the team decided to accomplish was to perform a topographic survey that included existing tree species, diameter-at-breast height and canopy size. This information allowed for cataloguing which trees were to be saved, relocated, or removed depending on the species, size, and general location in the new design.

Upgrading the passive recreation area to accommodate regulation play fields has allowed nearby Virginia Beach Middle School to continue its outdoor phys ed program while its new school was under construction. The new middle school was built atop the old school?EUR??,,????'?????<

The next step the team performed was to schematically design a new park that would clarify circulation patterns, solve flooding issues and accommodate the various public needs. The park?EUR??,,????'?????<

Fields for baseball, softball, and soccer were located to maximize efficient use of space. Players and spectators for these were to be serviced by a centrally located concessions and restroom building at the end of the parking lot.

Behind this structure is a cul-de-sac that serves as a turnaround and a drop off. It also provides emergency vehicle circulation and improved access to the city?EUR??,,????'?????<

This image was taken just after a rainfall. The porous paving and the rain garden of little Henry sweetspire and saltbush have shown their mettle in handling stormwater runoff.

Before going to technical design drawings, the design team presented the schematic plans to the public and local city and school officials for comment. With overwhelming support and valuable input, there were some important changes that were worked into the plans.

Other items that were resolved in the technical design included the exact positioning of picnic shelters to maximize views into the park where spectators and park visitors were most likely to use them. A new playground was added to the far west of the site near the baseball field. This ensured a relatively secure access that could easily be monitored by siblings in the game or parents as spectators watching two different ages of children at the same time.

The porous paving ends as a curb cut here to direct water flow into the water garden.

Since the new school building is aiming toward a LEED certification, considerations for the park were made early in design to speak toward environmental awareness and responsibility. Porous pavers were used for the parking stalls, rain gardens were implemented to treat and control runoff from the parking and the ball fields, and an almost exclusive use of native plant materials were specified for the park.

Rain gardens were the solution to treat and control runoff from the parking area and the ball fields.

The trail system was reconfigured to clarify pedestrian movement through the site, and it was carefully coordinated with existing trees and new plant material. Twenty-nine trees were relocated to better complement the site, and over ninety-five percent of the proposed plants are native to the microclimate of the inland beach areas. The landscape contractor was able to construct a holding nursery on site to maintain the health of the transplant trees until the earthwork could be complete and ready for them.

The parking lot is constructed of porous pavers (Eco-Stone). Water oak and sweetspire are the greenery.

Overall, Beach Garden Park has been an extremely successful place for residents and tourists. With the ongoing improvements to the nearby resort district and the completion of a new school building, this park has provided a place for a peaceful transition between the two otherwise incompatible uses.

Water oaks line the path to the restrooms, located at the end of the parking lot.