An independent market-based study led to a proposed mixed use scenario that would support a non-traditional metro park fully integrated into various residential types. The core metro park would accommodate an extensive wetland and emergent marsh cells to meet the stormwater needs of the proposed private development and provide passive, natural resource-based recreation opportunities for residents and residents from the surrounding urban neighborhoods. In 2006, out of this visioning process, came a Master Plan specifically for a new and regionally unique natural area urban park development on 80 acres of the peninsula. The new Scioto Audubon Metro Park was born. The Design Team was led by the Columbus-based planning and design firm Kinzelman Kline Gossman in collaboration with Columbus-based Burgess & Niple who provided all environmental engineering and remediation services for this extensive brownfield redevelopment project. Additional coordination with a host of multijurisdictional and governmental agencies led to a plan to remediate, reclaim and revitalize this blighted and industrial brownfield site.

As the wetlands mature, this area will start to provide a greater diversity of spaces and experiences within the park.

Park Development Goals
Goals and objectives were established early on in the park development design process:

1. Reclaim and conserve the special natural, cultural and historic resources of the site.
   
2. Create opportunities for inclusive development for use by all age groups and demographics.
   
3. Provide areas of special interest, unique recreation opportunities and activities geared to targeted users groups consisting of young professionals, urban youth and families.
   
4. Establish a living laboratory and educational opportunity, telling a story of what the peninsula once was and what it will become in the future.
   
5. Natural habitat restoration to further enhance the mission of Audubon Ohio and Audubon Center initiatives
   Environmental impacts and physical unknowns associated with past, unregulated land use development greatly influenced both the design approach and implementation of the park. The following principals have guided the evaluation of every design and development decision:
   

• Reclamation and Restoration
  
• Influence Environmental Awareness
  
• Preservation and Resource Management
  
• Urban Integration and Contextual Enhancement
  
• Sustainability
  
• Promote LEED???????(R)???? / Green Building Initiatives
  
• Community Connectivity
  
• Public Art Integration
  

A reconditioned and refurbished water tower provides viewing and observation decks from a central location and is a landmark piece from adjacent interstate highways.

Engaging federal, state and local agencies and community stakeholders was instrumental to the environmental permitting and review and approval processes and to securing funding for this brownfield redevelopment initiative.

The success of restoring the peninsula was only possible with the involvement of a host of agencies including the Ohio EPA, USEPA and Ohio Department of Development for first tier environmental approval, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Department of Development and Ohio Department of Natural Resources for second tier implementation and City of Columbus departments and Brewery District Commission at the local level. $1.5 million in state and federal funding assistance has been secured through programs including the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund and Brownfield Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund and USEPA brownfield assessment and cleanup grants. The project has been a model for other communities in restoring misused and abandoned sites.

A hierarchy of trails traverse the park and were designed with specific materials to delineate pedestrian movement and program use areas. Aggregate walking paths, boardwalks and paved multi-use trails connect to the regional bikeway system and provide multiple points of urban access to features within the park.

Sustainability And Reuse
Sustainable design features within the Metro Park are integral to its design. The entire metro park is composed of an extensive wetland system. Over time the wetlands have matured and sustained themselves with stormwater runoff and native plantings. Bioswales were integrated in to the natural topography to aide in stormwater management and sustain the natural ecosystem. At the Boat Ramp, a primary viewing access point within the park, stormwater is diverted into a bioswale system before it outflows to the river. And as with previous Metro Park projects, existing materials from this once industrial site were re-used on site and recycled off site.

Improved river access facilities to increase safe public water-oriented recreation opportunities were introduced as part of that project.

Discovering appropriate adaptive re-uses from the existing industrial ?EUR??,,????'?????<

This perched clean water wetland and boardwalk serve as an educational and land lab study area for both the Metro Park and Audubon Center.

The master plan was also significantly influenced by the peninsula?EUR??,,????'?????<

Together the facility, the site and a network of boardwalks and wetlands, offer a dynamic learning lab for inner-city youth programs and school groups.

On five acres within the Metro Park, the Grange Insurance Audubon Center represents a catalyst for change connecting urban youth with the natural environment. Responsible stormwater management begins with a green roof that flows into an entry courtyard rain garden and pond/wetland. Sustainable practices include pervious hardscaping, native Ohio Xeriscaping and geothermal well fields.

Plan Comes To Fruition
In 2009, Kinzelman Kline Gossman, working with Metro Parks and the City of Columbus, was responsible for leading the design, documentation and construction of over $1.75 million in park improvements. Park amenities include an aviary habitat observation deck, a landlab wetland environs with boardwalk trail, a climbing wall complex, restoration of a water tower and incorporation of observation decks, a hierarchy of trail systems, sand volleyball courts, open recreation athletic fields, a renovated boat ramp area with a new fishing pier, custom tensile shade structures, play equipment, picnic facilities, a dog park, parking areas and a parkwide signage/wayfinding system.

The Scioto Audubon Metro Park provides incredible diversity of passive and extreme recreational opportunities coupled with a full nature education experience for urban residents to enjoy. The vision for this unique urban park space will continue to evolve, with the first phase of development complete and additional recreational facilities planned for the future.

The design intent in the Central Activity Area was to create an urban playground that is transparent, modern and blends in with the surrounding site. The goal is to challenge children with multiple heights and angles, provide access to children of all abilities, and heighten creative play.

Firm Information
Kinzelman Kline Gossman is an established, multidiscipline landscape architecture, architecture and planning firm with offices in Columbus, OH, Covington, KY and Indianapolis, IN. There broad ranging project expertise includes large scale land use planning, all scales of park and open space planning, urban design and planning, corporate facility and campus planning, residential and amenity-based community planning and mixed-use facilities design.

The GIAC parking area is a fully functioning demonstration project that highlights various sustainable stormwater management systems that achieve minimal site runoff during storm events. Featured materials include porous concrete, permeable pavers, bio-retention with native vegetation and recycled/composite wood boardwalks.

Scioto Audubon Metro Park
Location: Columbus, Ohio ?EUR??,,????'?????<

Scioto Audubon Matero Park Project Team
Redevelopment Partnership: Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks
Redevelopment Partnership: Alan McKnight, Director, Columbus Recreation and Parks
Redevelopment Partnership: Lori Baudro, AICP, Senior Project Coordinator, Columbus Department of Development, Planning Division
Redevelopment Partnership: Heather Stark, Director, Grange Insurance Audubon
Project Manager and Landscape Architect: Mark A. Kline, Kinzelman Kline Gossman
Civil and Environmental Engineers: Burgess & Niple Inc., Columbus, Ohio
Design Team Member: DesignGroup Inc., Columbus, Ohio
Electrical and Structural Engineers: Korda Engineering Inc., Columbus, Ohio