May 2024 - Parks & Recreation - 36

BONNET SPRINGS
As cities grow, people need parks
more than ever. Right now, less
than half of Americans live within
a half mile of a park (tinyurl.
com/3jx9emzx), but it can be challenging
for a city to find the right location
to create large-scale outdoor
space in a densifying urban core.
One way cities have remedied the
issue is by turning to their most undesirable
locations - sites that have
suffered severe contamination from
years of industry and often end up
abandoned in disrepair. With the
right design approach, what was once
a city's eyesore can transform into a
community's most prized resource,
recreationally and economically.
Supporting Our
Growing Cities
Cities in the southern United States
continue to grow at the highest
rates in the nation (tinyurl.com/
mped34vu). Take Lakeland, Florida,
as an example. Lakeland is the
largest city in Polk County, planted
between Tampa and Orlando, and
is expected to continue growing aggressively
during the next decade
(tinyurl.com/mwszxsdu).
As its name suggests, Lakeland
is home to 38 lakes, as well as the
Polk Museum of Art, Florida Southern
University and dozens of small
neighborhood parks. The city's approachable
cost of living and proximity
to two major metropolitan hubs
make it attractive to families and
young professionals. But as it continues
to grow, Lakeland has found
itself in need of more amenities.
In 2015, a group of Lakeland
community leaders and philanthropists
came together to brainstorm
ways the city could support the burgeoning
population. What would
PHOTO COURTESY OF SASAKI
bring the community together, create
economic growth and continue to attract
new people to the area?
A 168-acre swath of overgrown
land around Lake Bonnet had been
sitting disused and contaminated for
more than 40 years. The area was
within walking distance of downtown
Lakeland, but devoid of life.
The group saw potential.
" What's incredible about this project
is how the answer was actually
hidden in plain sight, " says Anna
Cawrse, Sasaki principal. " While the
community knew the site was there
because of its downtown location,
no one knew that a lake, a sand-seep
spring and an old oak grove were
hidden past the 70-acre brownfield. "
Building upon the city's strong
tradition of parks and natural areas,
the group proposed remediating and
transforming the abandoned rail yard
into Bonnet Springs Park - a new
central park for Lakeland. The group
formed Bonnet Springs Park, Inc., a
nonprofit
organization
that
spearheaded
fundraising, and got to work.
The design required a creative remediation strategy to address the site's significant
contamination. Thirty-foot-tall hills were constructed from onsite contaminated fill.
36 Parks & Recreation | MAY 2 0 2 4 | PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
PHOTO BY MATTHEW ARIELLY, COURTESY OF SASAKI
http://tinyurl.com/3jx9emzx http://tinyurl.com/mped34vu http://tinyurl.com/mwszxsdu
May 2024 - Parks & Recreation

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