Photo Credit: Stantec
In 2006, the housing bubble burst, and few places in the country were hit harder than California’s Central Valley. Grand visions of verdant communities vanished in the blink of an eye.
In one instance, complete designs for a unique park site in a new subdivision were reluctantly “parked” on the shelf of the Cordova Recreation and Park District (CRPD). In 2014, the economic engine finally turned over, but the park budget’s steady idle had lost some significant value during eight years of inflation. Recession-weary but undaunted, park staff at CRPD dusted off the plans and called in the support of the Stantec landscape-architecture team in charting a course through this challenging terrain.
When reviewing the eight-year-old design, one thing was obvious—it simply would not work in the current environment. Too expensive. Too thirsty. Too bland.