Greenwood Community Park Breaks Ground on Phase I
In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, community members gathered to celebrate the design implementation of the Sasaki master plan, completed in 2019
A re-envisioned neighborhood park and regional destination arises out of robust engagement with the Baton Rouge community
Greenwood Community Park Master Plan and Implementation
The bayou promenade - a community "front porch" for Baton Rouge
At 660-acres, Greenwood Community Park is the largest park in East Baton Rouge (EBR), however, only 15% of the total site makes up the park’s active uses. In 2018, East Baton Rouge Parish Parks & Recreation Commission (BREC) launched an ambitious plan for Greenwood Park and its resident Baton Rouge Zoo, aimed at reconciling historic disinvestment and providing a catalytic project that would serve as a true neighborhood amenity. Through the largest public engagement campaign in BREC’s history, the design team worked with thousands of residents to create a vision that would transform the park into a constellation of programming woven into a robust ecological network of bayous, forest, and meadows that connect seamlessly into the surrounding context.
Designed with the very best of Louisiana’s natural and cultural environments in mind, the new park serves as a place to both get away and come together. The nature-based and active program elements are stitched together by a network of multi-modal trails that connect people to this place. The reimagined Baton Rouge Zoo, now opening into the park, becomes part of a larger constellation of community uses that serve people from all walks of life. The new Greenwood Park will be a neighborhood destination for Baker and North Baton Rouge as well as a regional asset for the greater Baton Rouge area.
The overall design vision for the park
Greenwood Park is easily accessible for all of East Baton Rouge (EBR) Parish and beyond
The team considered different social factors, like population density, when designing the park
A Master Plan Rooted in its Context
At the core of the Master Plan process was a site discovery and “uncovery” phase, which utilized detailed mapping to reveal hidden information about the site’s past and present conditions to develop a deep understanding of Greenwood Park’s ecological, hydrological, and cultural conditions.
In order to invite as many voices as possible into the process, engagement methods were designed to be broad reaching in terms of age and demographics by using numerous locations and tools. Innovative strategies included analog Instagram boards, a gumball preference game, and a 24’x22’ walkable master plan. In addition to collecting feedback, the engagement was seen as a two-way street—with materials providing analysis of the physical conditions of the existing park in order to spark a deeper connection to the park and its future.
At the final public meeting a diverse range of stakeholder holders and community members were present, demonstrating the broad reach of the team’s community engagement strategy which was foundational to the plan
Different community engagement methods, like this gameboard, encouraged people to share feedback on the plan throughout the design process.Â
The common themes found in the results of the robust engagement formed the four guiding principles for the Master Plan: Celebrate Louisiana’s Nature, A Park for the Everyday and the Big Day, Open Up and Reach Out, and Welcome and Grow. Each of the guiding principles acted as a framework for the creative process.
A series of four guiding principles established early in the process through listening to the aspirations of the community and stakeholders provided a benchmark for success as the design evolved. These four elements can be found in all phases of parks future.
Mapping out the different design constraints and opportunities
The final design, shown here, brings together a whole host of technical constraints like flooding, sensitive habitat, and existing site features with a broad set of community desires.
The Greenwood Community Park Master Plan calls for reorienting the Baton Rouge Zoo entrance to the park’s interior, where it is connected to the Waterfront Building along the new Bayou Promenade, ultimately making it part of a larger constellation of community uses that serve people of all ages. A robust trail system creates new recreational opportunities for walkers, runners, bikers, and horseback riders, while an iconic adventure playscape will engage people of all ages. An expanded lake and new blue trails will create recreational opportunities while capturing stormwater during flooding events.
The park will serve regional demand for festivals and events, as well as local needs for access to green spaces, by including major cultural and recreational anchors—such as a large concert venue, community gardens, and walking trails.
The plan establishes a process to transform the 660 acre park and zoo into a space that serves as a community hub for the surrounding neighborhoods and as a destination for the people of greater Baton Rouge.
The vision for the site unfolds into a series of programmatic spaces that are tied together by restored bayous and miles of trails.
The playground was the number one priority that came out of the extensive community engagement process.
Implementation
After the master plan was approved in September 2019, the team was then selected to move into full design services for Phase 1 implementation. The design’s first phase, which broke ground on December 8, 2020, includes a signature adventure playground, a reimagined J.S. Clark Golf Course, the restoration of Cypress Bayou, and the creation of the Signature Bayou Promenade. The first phase also features a new sequence for the AZA re-accredited Baton Rouge Zoo, which includes a giraffe feeding, a pygmy hippo exhibit, and the re-routing of the iconic zoo train.
Adventure playground
A new, welcoming entrance for zoo visitors
The design introduces miles of walking and biking trails
Custom signage
The restoration of Cypress Bayou reintroduced native wildlife. Photos courtesy of Patti Smith.Â
For more information contact Zachary Chrisco, Anna Cawrse or Joshua Brooks.
Related Voices
Greenwood Park and Baton Rouge Zoo Approved for Phase One Implementation
Phase one of the transformational park and zoo project will move forward
Greenwood Park Master Plan Approved
Press Release: Greenwood Park master plan approved; moving forward with unprecedented design-led investment benefiting North Baton Rouge and the greater city and region
