Veterans Memorial Park

Funded by a grant from the Maynard Community Preservation Committee the town commissioned a redesign of Memorial Park (located on Summer Street, across from Fine Arts Theater Place).

The redesign of the park emphasizes the connection between downtown destinations, contributing to the town’s overall success and popularity. A key goal of this project is to improve the park’s circulation to help pedestrians move safely and enjoyably between downtown destinations.

We will provide additional information and updates on this project here. 

Construction Documents

Here are the final construction documents as developed with the community, CBA Landscape Architects and Town staff.

One key change in the final design added to the construction documents was based on input during the community workshops to address concerns over loss of parking by the addition of the ADA compliant ramp. By repositioning the ramp to the south portion of the park (between the Basin and Nason Street) the anticipated loss of parking is only two spaces.

Currently Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds are expected to fund the ramp and other ADA compliant requests. The Town has an active request for CDBG funds for this purpose. The Community Preservation Committee also voted to place on the warrant for the Town Meeting of May 15, 2017 a request by the Town for $30,000 to develop the performance area.

On 23-May-2017 the Planning Board approved the park’s Site Plan: Download Approved Site Plan (19 pages, pdf) 

Final Report

In June 2016 CBA Landscape Architects, LLC released the final report as a result of the community workshops (see below).

The “Preliminary Studies Report” outlines the proposals and feedback discussed in the workshop, design explorations, design options, and a final schematic-level design proposal with cost estimates.

Download the report.

 

Meetings

Early 2016 – Community Workshops

During the first few months of 2016 the town held a series of community workshops.   The workshops, held in conjunction with the park design team, were the opportunity for everyone to provide feedback on the new park’s design.  The meetings were held at the Maynard Public Library.

  • 1st Community Workshop – Jan 7th
    The first Community Workshop was held on January 7th.  CBA Landscape Architect Clara Batchelor walked the attendees through the numerous options available to the community for using the space and some potential arrangements of memorial space, public performance space, open space, and passive recreation uses.
  • 2nd Community Workshop – Feb 25thFollowing on the feedback received from the January workshop (see below), CBA will be presenting a series of designs for the park.
  • 3rd/Final Community Workshop – Apr 21st
    The design phase of the Veterans’ Memorial Park was almost complete and  the town invited the community to attend the third of three community workshops in April.

Note: Slides and Notes from the meetings are available below:

 

Background

The redesign of the park will emphasize the connection between downtown destinations, contributing to the town’s overall success and popularity. A key goal of this project is to improve the park’s circulation to help pedestrians move safely and enjoyably between downtown destinations.

Maynard awarded the design contract to CBA Landscape Architects, LLC of Cambridge. The design stage of the project is expected to last until mid-February and will feature public workshops and design sessions. Once the design phase is complete, the town will be begin looking at funding options, including state and local grants, to complete the project.

The kick-off public workshop was held at 7 p.m. on January 7th in the Maynard Public Library. Approximately 30 community members attended and shared their visions for the park.

“We want to ensure the public has plenty of opportunity to weigh in on this initiative,” said Maynard Planning Board member Greg Tuzzolo, a landscape architect who will also work closely on the project. “It is a win-win for the town and can improve many aspects of downtown”.

CBA Landscape Architects has extensive experience in park design and has completed numerous projects in Arlington, Beverly, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Melrose, Malden, Revere and Somerville.

Principal Clara Batchelor’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Garden Design, Design New England, Great Backyards, and on the television shows Restore America with Bob Vila, Bob Vila’s Home Again, and People, Places, Plants. Co-principal Denis Chagnon’s experience includes Wayside Commons in Burlington, Mothers Rest and Almont parks, and Gibbons Playgrounds in Boston, Island End Park in Chelsea, and the Wayland Town Center development.

“The committee felt that CBA has the right mix of small town experience, understanding of pedestrian dynamics and the necessary sensitivity for a project such as our Veterans’ Memorial Park,” said Town Planner Bill Nemser, who served on the park re-design selection committee. “As a veteran, I recognize the special place the park holds for those who have served. It is essential to get input from local vets to understand what they feel can be improved within the park.”