City of Madison

College of Design, Construction and Planning

231 Architecture Building 1480 Inner Road room 262 POB 115702 Gainesville FL 32611-5702 (352) 294-1475

SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

http://www.dcp.ufl.edu/arch/

Ref: City of Madison / Third report on Parks and Recreation November 15 2016.

DEO Grant Architecture Design 5 (ARC 3321) The City of Madison proposed that we study Recreation improvements in six urban Parks through a Design Studio (D 5) at the School of Architecture UF, along the Fall Term 2016.

Students and Professor did a site visit hosted by the City. Following the first visit the studio produced ideas and recommendations for the 6 parks. After considerations regarding the six proposed parks, the studio conducted a second visit focusing on developing ideas and proposals for the three most transformable locations, showing potential for future growth: The Lanier Field area, the Lake Frances and Downtown area, and the Jesse Solomon Park. The studio proposals can be interpreted as the creation of a menu of possible options to be considered from a medium term perspective.

The six parks were classified as follows, the studio is advancing on sites C, D and E. The projects are being developed by 15 students, some of them working in teams that has resulted in 12 proposals that open up alternative ideas that can be freely associated. We acknowledge the fact that the scale of the proposals goes beyond the expected scale by the City requests, but it provides the “Big Dreaming� perspective that allows us to create the future with the intent of achieving lasting and fertile proposals, within which to locate our steps forward.

Recommendations for the three squares, A, and B, are of limited adjustment scope.

A) Representational Plaza

Four Freedoms Park

B) Neighborhood squares

Rev. Miller Park Sumter James Park

C) Sports Campus

Lanier Field

D) Recreation and Event park

Lake Frances

E) Natural Encounters park

Jesse Salomon Park

Equal Opportunity

In addition to the parks, we are suggesting alternative ideas proposals for the O’Toole Herb Garden development.

The ideas for these three parks were discussed by the whole group of students Four Freedoms Park This park is evaluated as complete and containing multiple attractors .Could be better connected on a pedestrian level to the more historical commercial downtown blocks, across Base Street, through raised pedestrian crossings. Interpretative boards, bicycles parking, seating and be incorporated. It is considered important to complete the covered sidewalk canopies in Range Street, reinforcing a continuous link between the parks towards Lake Frances., to consolidate the walkability of the City of Madison.

Reverend Miller Park This family friendly neighborhood park must reduce operating and maintenance costs. The low cost proposal is to introduce a paved itinerary for skating or small children cycling surrounding the existing playground, and incorporate mulch floor surfaces and solar lighting fixtures, as well as a generous forestation initiative with plain air shaded picnic tables Sumter James Park This low income neighborhood park would benefit an addition to the existing small children playground, of two new elements directed towards older children: a half a court Basketball court, and a contemporary climbing and shading canopy structure that would unify the park components.

Lanier Field Westside Links at Lanier Field by Nathalie Canate and Aja Webb-Sears Urban context proposals, networking the neighborhood assets and providing new opportunities.

The Hidden Lake Café’

by Nathalie Canate

The Promenade

by Aja Webb-Sears

This underutilized space offers the central key to the integration of the North West institutional area of Town. The ambitious proposal looks ahead to the future of the Town, with a more intensely populated western area. It creates a bicycle-pedestrian network of links uniting the College, the Hospital, the High school and the Cattle Ranch, creating an expanded Campus realm, where new venues can be

developed. It reaches (to the north in the College Campus and to the west) to two existing lakes that can be transformed in demonstration ecological teaching landscapes. It also locates beyond the park a destination Café, with edible plants located throughout the Café’ and gardens and a vine structure that carries edible species and filters people into a building that overlooks the lake’, a secluded experiential venue overlooking the Hidden Lake. The Café’ can be accessed

through the new and improved trails from the Lanier Field, College, Hospital, and High School through the created Promenade shaded areas and from car parking spaces. The CafÊ can be easily accessed as well from Highway 90, Base Street and Turner Davies Drive. We perceive this opportunity as a unifying urban structural element, creating the development linking base for multiple programs that would serve the surrounding institutions, connecting the road system to the town internal destinations, and opening opportunities for concession’s development and more. It can become an iconic destination location. The proposal capitalizes on the existing market potential for the creation of jobs.

The Lanier Field Hub

by Paola Zarate

This proposal creates a Recreational Building, framing and giving limits to Lanier Field. It provides open air shaded and also enclosed conditioned areas for the development of alternative sports activities, martial arts, and dancing venues. The proposal also transforms the waterpark into a restrooms facility connected to the canopy that connects the new building to the wooded surroundings. It creates a destination magnet to the Field, containing the programmatic and management support to the area, with Pro-shop, restrooms, offices, classrooms and rentable spaces for community classes and development. The project formalizes the entrance to the field, taps into the already existing community investments to revitalize and promote its use.

Lake Frances

by Team

The Lake is very close to the commercial downtown historical assets but disconnected by the traffic of an important route, Duval Street. The proposal redesigns Rutledge Street to a pedestrian preference street connecting the Lake to the historical Center in Range Avenue, and providing a protected crossing to Duval Street. This will be achieved through adequate paving, urban furniture, shading and vegetation. The re-routing of vehicles from Lake Shore Drive is recommended to create a meaningful pedestrian continuity. It also identifies the immense opportunity of recycling the City Public Works warehouse area into an historic destination opening up the lake front to commercial and public events as farmer’s market, plants and herbs market (linked to the Herb Garden), antique fairs, eateries and bars and Recreation Centers. The studio has evaluated with experts the recycling possibilities and viability of this beautiful old brick industrial building. The City Public Works facility functions could be relocated to a less scenic location. The Team also investigated the vacant land around the lake, recommending the acquisition of Lake Frontage space parcels to use them as sites for concessions and recreations facilities.

The composition culminates with a pier towards the lake with amphitheater, resting and fishing areas and a platform for feeding the lake turtles.

These considerations would add a new historic building (Florida Power and Light, and the Old Ice Factory) as an attraction while generating new business and entertainment opportunities in and around it.

The famous Madison Milkshakes

by Edgar Alatorre This proposal creates the Famous Madison Milkshake bar with lake view (in acquired parcel.) A regional destination attraction for healthy nutrition, restauration, lake shore observation, terraces

and public facilities’. It weaves the promenade from Range Avenue through Rutledge Street culminating with an observation tower over the lake.

The Madison Climb

by Steven Ramirez Recreation Center proposal containing a Rock Climbing Icon to signal the entrance to Lake Frances from Duval Street, and an itinerary through a fountain plaza towards the lake. The proposal includes a Canoe operating/ launching building by the lake operated by the City. It creates new uses for outdoor recreation on the Lake environment.

The Power House

by Juan Carlos Velasquez (JC) A central Recreation Destination providing a final venue park for visitors, cyclists and trails users by repurposing the City Public Works Warehouse. Multiple sports find a location in this venue, open air tennis courts, enclosed basketball and other court sports supported by facilities.

It is a final destination for cyclists, with restauration, bike repair and storage, involving local associations. A rooftop terrace doubles as an observation deck and an Amphitheatre for small performances.

Fenix Market

by Jasmine Jimenez and Kyle Tonkins “Regenerating industrial Heritage. Tapping into prosperity” Reuse of City Public Works Warehouse opened as covered piazza for a proposed local brewery, markets and fairs, with the provision of natural native species gardens and a lake view new venue and terraces for art displays and café’.

Farm to Table at Lake Frances

by Jeffrey Richmond and Gunnar Danielsen “Growing Local Flavors” Restructure of Office building into educational facility in support of a Green House in a reuse proposal for the City Public Works Warehouse, with edible plants landscaped gardens and a restaurant. Linked to the O’Toole Herb Garden experience. A Farm to Table proposal.

The Quilt Garden

by Verity Blevins and Carol-Anne Rodriguez “Where traditional craft meets contemporary fabrication” Quilting workshops covering the craft, art and industrial digital production levels in the City Warehouse site. Exhibitions Tea house and events venues. Central quilt designed garden Extensive Community engagement capitalizing on cultural assets and creating job opportunities for a growing outside market.

The Pier at Lake Frances

by Christopher Berry Dual proposal containing on the sloping lot across from the Lake a Public Park and semi interred facilities for the lake users, with observation terraces, and on the other hand a Pier Amphitheatre protruding into lake Frances as a culmination of the connection with Down Town and the Four Freedoms Park and the revitalized Routledge Avenue.

Jesse Solomon Park Nature Gateway at Solomon Park

by Aleesa Nishimoto And Dorche’Dickerson

This recently created park is a door to wilderness. Serving surrounding populated areas as well as City visitors, it should acquire as much land to the west as possible to enlarge the nature experience and preserve the western limit of the City as a conserved forested counterpoint to the urban realm. It contains two small lakes used as popular fishing holes and profuse native vegetation with some areas of special clearances in the woods. It also contains a grass track used

by Football player Jesse Solomon as a running track, to be preserved in its integrity as a landmark.

After considering alternative options, the proposal locates the entrance through Martin Luther King Jr. Road, inclusive of an arrival parking lot, leading to the first Visiting Center building that houses the ranger station as well as educational and interpretation facilities, that can be used by the education institutions of the City, and surrounding towns, as a field trip support, facilitating experimental as well as experiential activities. It contains restrooms and refectory facilities for students and visitors, class rooms and research laboratory.

A second building is located nearby and developed as an Event Center that can be a revenue source by hosting retreats, celebrations, festivals, fairs or more. From the constructed edge, equipped with the building components, the intervention becomes an eco-walking cycling trail through the park that borders the different natural attractions, lakes, marshes and native forested areas, providing observation, resting and fishing immersive platforms. A butterfly attracting plant garden will host shaded areas and serve as a celebratory and commemorative access to the preserved Jesse Solomon field running track.

The option of developing this park could require the creation of multiple job positions. It can be developed in sequential stages of investment. It will benefit the City of Madison with a close by accessible real natural experience to complement the Downtown historical assets for the walking enthusiasts.

O’Toole Herb Garden The alternative proposal ideas include the provision of a permanent downtown outlet, by Lake Frances, to be operated on a weekend basis in conjunction with a Farmer’s Market or the other suggested programs. The outlet will operate as an information center for the farm, and a sales location.

On the Farm site itself, the ideas under investigation are: . Defend and preserve the central Piazza from car access and parking, . Determine the frequent parking area location as a non-paved, tree shaded environment . Propose a pond sunrise observation platform and pavilion, a solitary meditation hut.

. Develop a Bed and Breakfast operation locating 4 to 8 cabins in the old upper garden with a common pit open fire assembly area. . Develop a more formal Weddings and Events setting support.

-Add a new building for Breakfast and Teas -Perfumes, essential oils, candle house, honey, gardens and fabrication. .Edge conditions of the Farm, Woods and Fields. .Tiny house lots for retreat rentals/ Screened watch Tower over the pond These alternatives can be developed in the future but not in this Semester.

Please provide feedback on the Parks’ proposals, as these will continue to be refined in the next two weeks towards conclusion. It has been a great opportunity for the class to engage with a real City experience, and interact with stake holders and officials of Madison.

We are deeply grateful for the opportunity.

Martha Kohen Professor of Architecture