PORT

?? What a Year! Thank You for Making 2024 Extraordinary! As 2024 comes to a close, we’re overwhelmed with gratitude for the collaborators, clients, and communities who helped bring so many ambitious projects to life. Here’s what we’re celebrating: ?? BREAKING GROUND: We hit some major project milestones this year, including the groundbreaking of The Park at Expo Idaho in Boise, transforming a former racetrack into a 50-acre biodiverse riverfront park. In Bentonville, 8th Street Gateway Park began construction, setting the stage for a 110-acre outdoor adventure destination. We broke ground on Phase 3 of the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park, an expansion of Knoxville’s renowned trail network. At the University of Pennsylvania, work began on Weitzman Hall, where the landscape creates spaces for learning, gathering, and connection. ??? NOW OPEN TO THE PUBLIC: This year also saw exciting project completions. Aspire Park in Clinton, TN, opened as a 350-acre destination featuring wildflower meadows, trails, and panoramic river views. In Knoxville, Phase 2 of the Urban Wilderness Gateway Park including the Baker Creek Preserve opened as a hub for mountain biking, outdoor play, and family fun. ?? UNDER CONSTRUCTION: Augusta Quarry Park in Knoxville is under construction, transforming a former industrial site into a dynamic public destination featuring floating docks, dramatic overlooks, and new paths that celebrate the site’s natural beauty. ?? RESEARCH: Our national research project, Constructing the American Public Realm (CAPR), exploring how public spaces are funded and created won recognition at this years 2024 National Parks and Recreation Association (NRPA) Conference! ?? INDUSTRY AWARDS: We’re honored that Expo Idaho Park, 8th Street Gateway Park, Armourdale Area Master Plan, Cobbs Creek Nature Playground, and Centennial District received top awards from ASLA, AIA, and APA chapters across the country this year. ?? TEAM MILESTONES: Congratulations to Nick Jabs, AIA, PLA, ASLA, Anna Darling, ASLA, Maddie Clark, Anastasia Osorio, Aminah McNulty, and Peiye Yang on certifications, awards, and career milestones that strengthen our team and drive our work forward! To everyone we’ve worked with, THANK YOU for helping us create public spaces that inspire, connect, and endure. We are endlessly grateful for your trust, collaboration, and shared vision. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a bright New Year!

The Park at Expo Idaho was recognized with the Outstanding Plan Award from the American Planning Association Idaho Chapter as well as an ASLA Honor Award for Planning & Analysis from the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA). Breaking ground this week, Phase 1 of The Park at Expo Idaho transforms 50 acres of a closed racehorse track into a destination riverside park that prioritizes urban biodiversity, year-round active recreation, and nature-based play. Phase 2 of the project will eventually include an additional 38 acres of sports fields and active recreation facilities. At its core, the park restores the site’s connection to the Boise River floodplain. Hydraulic and topographic interventions reintroduce historic watercourses, creating wetland habitat, improving water quality, and boosting biodiversity. Embedded throughout this resurgent landscape, key anchor points structure circulation and programmatic intensity. Upon completion in 2026, this once-in-a-generation destination park will include: The Lowlands – a 17-acre restored floodplain with over 1.4 miles of stream channels. The Ridges – topographic landforms framing the park’s perimeter created from the soil excavated from The Lowlands. Nature Playground – a multi-sensory play environment inspired by the Boise River’s riparian landscapes. All Wheel Sports Garden – an active wheel sports venue for users of all skill levels woven into a woodland landscape. The Park at Expo Idaho demonstrates how thoughtful, yet ambitious design can transform disused urban spaces into civic destinations that enhance natural systems and elevate community vitality. A special thanks to our collaborators at?Ada County, Idaho, Marlon Blackwell Architects, Horrocks, Great Ecology, Rio Applied Science & Engineering, California Skateparks, Studio Ludo, ECOSYSTEM SCIENCES, LLC, Baer Design Group, TJK Consulting Engineers, Inc, Plan North Engineers, PROS Consulting, INC., Dharam Consulting.?

The Armourdale Area Master Plan received an AIA Merit Award for Urban/Regional Design from the?AIA Kansas Chapter. This five-part plan envisions the transformation of one of Kansas City’s most complex and historically underserved neighborhoods into a thriving and equitable community. Spanning 2,000 acres of residential and industrial land, Armourdale is defined by a legacy of flooding, disinvestment, and isolation. Grounded in extensive bilingual community engagement and historical research, the Master Plan addresses decades of systemic inequities and identifies actionable strategies to revitalize the district. Several implementation projects guided by the plan are currently underway, including the first ever infill housing on a land-banked parcels, commercial corridor streetscape improvements funded by a WIFIA stormwater improvement grant, and levee enhancements constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. A special thanks to our collaborators at?Borderless Studio and MVRDV.

8th Street Gateway Park, which just broke ground in September, won an ASLA Honor Award for Unbuilt Design. Developed with Bentonville Parks and Recreation through the Walton Family Foundation’s Design Excellence Program, this 100-acre park will be a new centerpiece of the Bentonville Parks System. The park is divided into three distinct zones—West Park, East Park, and the Park Core—each offering unique landscape characteristics, recreational opportunities, and ecological enhancement. With Bentonville nearly doubling in population over the last decade, 8th Street Gateway Park will serve both nearby residents and regional audiences who come to Bentonville for the extensive outdoor recreation opportunities. A special thanks to our collaborators City of Bentonville , Ecological Design Group, Polk Stanley Wilcox, Apex Engineers, Inc, Prigm Engineering, PLLC, Studio Ludo, and California Skateparks.

We’re proud to share that Cobbs Creek Nature Playground won an AIA Merit Award for Impact Design! After opening in May 2023, the Cobbs Creek Nature Playground helped transform an under-resourced playground in West Philadelphia into a state-of-the-art nature-based playground. When we first visited the site, we found graffiti on the existing play equipment that declared, “Safe playgrounds Matter.” We took this to heart as we worked with Rebuild PHL and the Cobbs Creek community to design an inclusive and accessible playground for everyone to enjoy. ?

PORT was recognized by the Illinois Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ILASLA) and AIA Philadelphia for our work on the Centennial District Ideas Exchange, a design competition to reimagine the future of West Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. In collaboration with KieranTimberlake and Amber Art & Design, we envisioned “The West Way” – a plan to revitalize the historic Centennial District by transforming three of its most beloved institutions into public gateways anchoring the 540-acre site. Linking these hot zones of activity, we reconfigured circulation networks with multi-modal streets, public transit, and pedestrian corridors. By concentrating investment in the most prominent areas of the park while enhancing connectivity throughout, we explored design interventions that would be impactful yet achievable in the near term.

Aminah McNulty and Daniel McGovern from PORT attended the 2024 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo in Philadelphia last week. We enjoyed learning more about innovative material reuse strategies that could substantially reduce the embodied carbon of our public realm projects.

For those attending the National Recreation and Park Association Conference in Atlanta this week, join PORT's Research Associate, Aminah McNulty, as she presents "Constructing the American Public Realm," sharing our latest research on funding and partnerships shaping public spaces across the U.S.

For those attending the National Recreation and Park Association Conference in Atlanta this week, join PORT's Research Associate, Aminah McNulty, as she presents "Constructing the American Public Realm," sharing our latest research on funding and partnerships shaping public spaces across the U.S.

Last week the City of Bentonville celebrated the ceremonial groundbreaking of the 8th Street Gateway Park, a new 100-acre park supporting community recreation, urban nature, and a beginner mountain bike destination. The park is composed of three sub-areas—the West Park, East Park, and Park Core—with dedicated space to play, gather, explore, and relax. Notable features within the park include a destination playground, cycle ring, state-of-the-art wheel sports garden, and a community pavilion and event plaza. Over the past 5 years, PORT led the collaborative design process, a robust public engagement campaign, and construction documentation. The team includes Ecological Design Group, Polk Stanley Wilcox, Apex Engineers, Inc, Prigm Engineering, PLLC, Studio Ludo, and California Skateparks. Crossland Construction Company, Inc. is set to begin this week with scheduled completion within 2 years. The PORT team is beyond excited to have reached this milestone with the City of Bentonville Parks and Recreation and the Bentonville community.