Project Highlight
Bayer Becker’s full array of design capabilities are on display with the 435 acre Voice of America MetroPark. When the Michael A. Fox Highway was built, dirt was taken from the Voice of America site and placed in the fill areas of the highway, creating three small lakes. The Metroparks collaborated with Bayer Becker on a design resulting in a plan to combine the three small lakes into one big 35 acre lake. Bayer Becker prepared extensive grading plans for the lake and worked with Jones Fish Hatcheries to create a suitable environment, allowing fish to thrive. Artificial reefs into were also incorporated in the designs and placed in the bottom of the lake prior to filling it.
To help control costs for the first phase of development, fill material from the lake excavation was used to create a sledding hill for the park, negating the cost of having it transported off the site. This dirt could then be used in the future to provide any needed fill material. The lake is surrounded by a 1.4 mile multi-use path system, and includes a 50 foot span wooden pedestrian bridge. Roadway plans for the park entrance and parking lot were also part of the first phase.
Recently, Bayer Becker began providing design services on the second phase of the project. We, as designers integrated into the overall park design a regional sports complex with area-wide recreational facilities to create something unique to Southwest Ohio. This complex, not yet constructed, will feature a venue to attract soccer, baseball, & softball teams from a multi-state market to participate in a first class environment on both grass and synthetic fields. Site grading has been manipulated to create spectator viewing opportunities for the central soccer fields.
An integral community green will serve as host to awards ceremonies, vendor displays, exhibitions, and passive strolling. The design also incorporates a dog park with water features, playgrounds including an all-inclusive playground, hiking paths, cross county paths, basketball and tennis courts, and picnic and shelter areas. The entire facility will be constructed over a ten year period preserving existing areas used during successive construction phases until completion. The end result will be a park for all ages, abilities and walks of life that the MetroParks can be proud of.
