Wiseburn Walking Path Receives "Project of the Year" from Corps Network by Guest User

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Withers and Sandgren's Wiseburn Walking Path project has been selected as Project of the Year by the Corps Network. The Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC) will be receiving an award for the project in Washington D.C. during the annual Corps Network national conference in February. 

Withers & Sandgren worked closely with LACC and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation through design, then construction observation of the project. Over 2.5 years, 80 Corpsmembers performed more than 13,000 service hours constructing the new open space for the Hawthorne/Wiseburn community, and learning new job skills.

The Wiseburn Walking Path was designed to confront larger societal concerns around the lack of public outdoor exercise and fitness options within Los Angeles County. The 0.7-mile-long decomposed granite walking path is ADA-Accessible and seeks to improve community health for users of all ages.

The gently meandering path features more than 150 new trees and 2,000 California-friendly waterwise plants installed to provide a tranquil backdrop for users. Along the path, joggers and strollers encounter eight stations with outdoor exercise equipment and five large seating areas for play, rest, and community convening. This green project also included the installation of 45 solar-powered pedestrian light poles and 55 solar security bollards.

https://www.corpsnetwork.org/2018-project-year-la-conservation-corps-wiseburn-walking-path

Celebrating South L.A.'s Jacaranda Park Opening! by Guest User

Withers & Sandgren celebrated a very special park opening last Saturday at South Los Angeles's new Jacaranda Park. We started this project in 2011. Six years later, our collective transformation of three long blocks of land has created the 6th largest City-owned park in South LA, and opens much-needed green space for children and members of the community!

The park design is a reflection of the neighboring residents' request for many active uses that will attract park users at all times of the day, combined with the desire for a beautiful park space to be used for relaxation and family get-togethers in a lovely park setting.  Proposed basketball half courts and fitness areas are interspersed with group picnic areas and seating areas to maintain an intensity of mixed recreational use at any given time.

"This park is about social equity but also about health equity. We need to have this park x 100 up and down Los Angeles." -  City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks General Manager Michael Shull

“Now my grandkids have a park to play in, and not dirt and rocks” - Kim Johnson, President of Jacaranda Park Advisory Board, who has lived across from “the field” since she was a child.

"With Jacaranda Park, the Land Trust is thrilled to add over 5 acres of green space to a city where currently 2 out of 3 people do not have access to a safe park within walking distance” - Carl Cade, Chair of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust Board of Directors. 

With committed leadership from Los Angeles Neighborhood Land Trust, and partnership with the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP), Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and funding from Prop 84 (2006 Park Bond), Rivers & Mountains Conservancy & other sources, Jacaranda Park is part of RAP's "50 Parks Initiative" program to address park disparity across the City.

Withers & Sandgren worked with the community, Deborah Murphy's team and LANLT on the winning grant application, and designed the 5.35 acre parcel to provide new recreational opportunities for the approximately 12,321 youth and families in the community which lacked green space for many years.

Park features include: walking/jogging paths that meander under the lush canopy of mature Jacaranda trees, outdoor fitness stations, a native plants demonstration garden, picnic areas, playground areas, family game tables, basketball half-courts, multi-use open spaces and turf areas, perimeter fencing, gates designed by artist James Naish, California-friendly landscaping and educational signs promoting waterwise landscaping.

“Residents of South LA deserve the highest quality parks and open space, which are critical to the health and well-being of our communities. Jacaranda Park is only the first of many to come as we build the South LA we deserve.” - City Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson

"This park is about dignity and respect. Our children don't deserve to play on concrete, cement, and in alleys. They deserve to feel grass under their feet." "First bill I ever introduced was #AB31 to create parks in park starved communities. Proud #JacarandaPark is the latest to open. Let’s keep it going by passing the park bond in June. #SB5" - California State Senator Kevin de León

We're proud to see Jacaranda Park open and loved by the community, and can't wait for the Jacarandas to bloom across the park!  *Select photos and text courtesy of LANLT, RAP and LADWP.

Park location: 700 E 98th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90002

Read more in On the Boards > Jacaranda Park.

Welcome, World - It's Withers & Sandgren New Website Wednesday! by Guest User

Welcome to our freshly launched home on the interwebs!  Explore our landscape architecture and planning work in Portfolio > Parks & Open Space | Master PlanningNative Habitats and Civic & Institutional.  On the Boards features current projects in the office. Get to know our firm, our Principals, and our principles in About.  News is our blog to share project updates and alerts about important issues. We look forward to sharing our latest work with you; join us on Facebook to get connected! And drop us a line, we welcome your feedback!

/// Wiseburn Walking Path Greening Up! /// by Patty Nalle

Checking on construction of our Wiseburn Walking Path near Hawthorne, a great project of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks & Recreation. Solar lights, succulents, and a great new fitness path await the community. Ladybugs have already found their way to the native Cleveland Sage along the half-mile landscaped fitness path, and more trees, shrubs and succulents are going in each day!

Read more in On the Boards > Wiseburn Walking Path.