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When children are at play in parks, the laughter, screams of joy, and cheer come through from a spontaneous collaboration. The Town of Apex, along with WithersRavenel and its partners, has channeled the same collaborative spirit into the upcoming Pleasant Park, which will be a space for creativity, imagination, wonder, and, most of all, fun.
With the park design complete, WithersRavenel has been working closely with its partners, JM Thompson and HH Architecture, to ensure the on-time completion of construction. The park is tentatively set to open at the end of the year.
Many of the pieces are coming together as the park takes shape. Six turf soccer fields are 99% complete, with only some fence areas in need of completion. In addition, curb and gutter and the first lift of asphalt have been installed in the upper parking lots and drive aisle (Recreation Drive). The lower parking lot and Recreation Drive (west to bridge location) are currently being laid with base course stone in preparation for curb & gutter and asphalt.
“WithersRavenel continues to attend bi-weekly meetings with the contractor to review construction progress and answer any questions that may have come up,” according to Kurt Pfeifer, WithersRavenel’s Project Landscape Architect.
“We have also been on-site many times to observe amenity area installation as well as determining a final routing and grading for the future cross-country trail,” he said.
“The Enchanted Forest [amenity area] currently has at least three different playground vendors working on-site at this point,” Pfeifer said. This inclusive play space will bring a new level of themed play to the 1.3-acre amenity area full of creative stories and adventures.
“The largest piece in the playground by play equipment firm Berliner is 80% complete with installation and will be the first of its kind installed in the United States (that we know of),” said Pfeifer. Meanwhile, the large structure from Playworld—another playground equipment supplier—is 100% complete in the upper playground. Kompan, which is known for innovative playground and outdoor fitness equipment, is preparing for footings under their Super Frisbee climbing apparatus.
Color schemes for all the pieces are custom designed and correspond with many of the fairytale stories that will be highlighted throughout the playground.
“For example, the Berliner piece was selected to figuratively represent the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz,” Pfeifer explained. “There is a small play cube piece for toddlers that was chosen to be red, thus representing the apple from the story of Snow White. These are just examples of how the space was planned.”
Pfeifer added, “At the current time, play structure installation has been stalled due to weather and saturated job-site conditions. All of the play pieces are set to be installed before any safety surfacing is installed.”
The next phase of the overall park construction will include many of the site architectural structures such as the fieldhouse, shelters, and restrooms. The site landscaping and hardscaping will also be part of this phase.
“We have been in constant contact with JM Thompson who is the construction manager at-risk (CMAR). They have done a great job in managing all the subcontractors and bringing us into any construction issues that needed to be addressed in the field,” Pfeifer said.
WithersRavenel has also been working with the Town staff and the playground vendors to answer design-related questions once they have seen the proposed amenity site grading.
“So many moving parts and so many players, it has truly been a collaborative effort between JMT, the Town of Apex, WithersRavenel, and HH Architecture,” Pfeifer said.
It’s been fun, but hey kids: the fun’s about to begin.
Learn how WithersRavenel can help you with your next project by contacting Brian Starkey, Director of Parks and Recreation, at bstarkey@withersravenel.com.