Bernel Road Park Master Plan (State College, PA)
Client: Patton Township
Contact: Susan Wheeler, Parks Project Manager
Professional Services Provided:
- Athletic Fields
- Bid Phase Administration
- Construction Administration
- Construction Documents
- Erosion & Sedimentation Control
- Highway Occupancy Permitting
- Land Development Plan
- Planting Plan
- Playground Design
- Retaining Wall Design
- Stormwater Improvements
- Stormwater Management
- Topographic Survey & Boundary
Patton Township selected ELA Group to implement the Master Plan for Bernel Road Park from design and regulatory approvals through construction documents. The Master Plan contemplated various athletic and recreational facilities throughout the 75-acre park parcel, including baseball, softball, multi-use fields, tennis and basketball courts, multi-age group playground, walking trails, pavilions, and disc golf. With the park near the University Park Airport, the playground and associated amenities were suggested to have an “airport” design theme. The project had a strict budget of $2.1 million, including construction costs and design service fees.
The key element of the Park is the airport-themed playground. Working directly with a play structure manufacturer and Township Staff, ELA Group designed the playground as a small-scale airport with two separate age group-specific play structures flanking a two-level “control tower” play structure. The play structures were custom-fabricated, incorporating each piece into the airport theme. Adjacent to the paved “runways”, an arch-roofed “hangar” pavilion and retaining wall supported an “overlook plaza” and completed the “airport”. The safety surfaces around each play structure consisted of a poured-in-place rubber with various airplane silhouettes under each piece of play equipment. The result is the most creative and unique playground in the Centre Region.
ELA Group’s services included refining and designing the amenities proposed on the Master Plan. Through the design process, ELA Group suggested several modifications of the Master Plan, which were sensitive to existing site and regulatory constraints and the project budget. ELA Group performed design and engineering and received municipal approvals for the entire project. Through continual project cost estimating, ELA Group recommended a phased construction approach since constructing the whole proposed project was far more than the Township’s budget.
