Northside Park is Ocean City's largest and most popular park facility. The 58 acre complex boasts three lighted softball/baseball fields, a lighted soccer field, multipurpose field, a fishing lagoon, a foot bridge, concession stands, two playgrounds, picnic area, two piers, a gazebo, walking/jogging paths, and a large building with a 14,200 square foot gymnasium, kitchen, community room, conference room, patio, sitting areas, and a sports center annex with a 21,000 square foot multi-sport sports arena. Pack a lunch, grab your family, and enjoy some quality time at one of our lovely picnic sites. Reservations of these sites will guarantee availability. The Ocean City Recreation and Parks Department may have just what you need from equipment reservations and fields, to picnic areas and volleyball courts. Most facilities are located within our Town's five square miles, so you hardly have to leave your backyard! Call (410) 250-0125 to find the right place for your next event.

The landscape architect was the prime consultant and developed Concept Plans, Demolition Plans and Final Construction Plans for the Park. The landscape architect also collaborated in writing a grant proposal that funded demolition and coordinated project conformance with ongoing Superfund cleanup on the site. The landscape Architect also coordinated design and construction work at adjacent projects including the National Guard Armory, Globeville and North Areas Flood Control Project and the extension of 51st Street east from Washington Street through the site. Other participants included The City and County of Denver Parks and Recreation Department, Asset Management, and Special Projects for the Mayor's Office. The Parks and Recreation Department managed a complex set of; funding sources and coordinated the review and approvals process. Asset Management acted as the property owner prior to the site's being dedicated as a park and coordinated off-site materials storage as well. Special Projects for the Mayor's Office identified the many different project funding sources and brought all the parties involved in adjacent work together in a timely way.

Special Factors

A highly significant factor in the design and construction of Northside Park is the adaptive reuse of the abandoned sanitary sewer plant structure. Through "design by subtraction," elements of plant structure were removed or modified to function within the park's program. The reuse strategy helped to achieve a 30% reduction in estimated demolition costs. The elements that remained defined a series of bold, geometric spaces. Grading and drainage were manipulated to alternately conceal and reveal the structure and to further define park spaces. There is a kind of play in the form-making and the hope is that this process of alternating exploration and reflection will be repeated over and over again as individuals discover the park.

The Park functions as a catalyst for the renewal of the surrounding neighborhood. The treatment plant was sited on thirteen acres in the center of a larger 75-acre site owned by the City of Denver. The site was a blight on the city's Globeville neighborhood and the projected expense of demolishing the derelict plant was an obstacle to redevelopment. The park design calling for partial demolition and rerouting of regional drainage, contributed directly to the successful application for a development grant from the United States Department of Commerce and allowed the city to proceed with design and construction. Construction of the park has transformed not only the landscape, but the city's perception of the site and the neighborhood. The project has been awarded the EPA's Region 8 Phoenix Award in "Recognition for Excellence in Brownfield Redevelopment" and the city is entertaining offers regarding the redevelopment of adjacent land.

Significance

Northside Park has had a significant and positive effect on the public's perception of the profession. The landscape architects played a visible and significant leadership role in shaping and expanding the park program to create a major public amenity. At the outset of the design process the City's program included two soccer fields and a parking lot, and it required the complete removal of the plant structure. The possibility of reuse of structure had previously been dismissed as too expensive and unsafe. Integration of the regional storm drainage system had not been considered. The landscape architects proposed innovative ways to reuse structure and reuse created savings in demolition costs that made proceeding with design and construction of the park possible. The landscape architects also called for integrating regional drainage into the design creating opportunities for water quality and wetlands/wildlife habitat, providing fill for park construction and adding value to the city owned land adjacent to the park.

Northside Park also presents a unique response to its context. The final form of the park is the result of an iterative design process that was focused on adding typical park program items like soccer fields to the treatment plant site while retaining a specific volume of structure. As grading concepts for the park were developed the landscape architects became aware of a strong axial form latent in the layout of the treatment plant. Soccer field layout, site drainage and internal circulation were designed to reinforce that axial form. Finish grade detail and specifications complement the plan form with a bold, constructed appearance. As a result, the park provides functional programmed space equal to a typical neighborhood park and celebrates the industrial heritage of the site and the surrounding landscape.