Project City: Weston

Saddle Club Road Roundabout

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CGA’s design of the Weston Roundabout at Saddle Club Road and South Post Road included hardscape and softscape design, as well as drainage, planting, irrigation, and lighting design. CGA also created a proposed plant material palette that was consistent and compatible with the City of Weston’s codes and its “signature” landscape aesthetic. The project included paver crosswalks, a new entrance sign, and new columns and gates into the adjacent Regional Park. Accents, such as small columns in the circle, up lighting on the palms, and decorative traffic signs add to the aesthetic appeal of the project. This roundabout was among the first ever successful in Broward County and served as a design model that other municipalities followed.

Peace Mound Park

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The impetus for the project lied in addressing existing ADA accessibility issues and bringing the park up to the same high standards of other parks in the city. Another major concern during the design of the project was the preservation of the existing tree canopy and the shaded, passive feeling of the park. Due to the significant amount of re-grading that was necessary in order to make the park ADA accessible, 85 of the nearly 500 existing trees had to be removed, and another 120 trees were relocated on site. To offset this loss, however, 150 new trees have been planted, including 18 specimen Live Oak trees. All of the walkways throughout the park are now accessible by wheelchair, and in many cases, this is made possible through the use of decorative stone retaining walls, which allowed for the preservation of the many existing mature trees within the park. The existing tot lot and swings have been replaced with a new play area that includes play equipment for children of all ages and physical abilities. The main play structure is completely accessible by children in wheelchairs, with a ramp leading up to the main platforms. Another major feature of the park is that it contains a significant archeological site with artifacts from the Tequesta Indians. Throughout the course of the project, care was taken not to disturb this area, and 8 new bronze plaques with information on the history of the area have been inlaid in the walkways that surround it.

Library Park

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The City of Weston approached CGA with the idea to design and develop a passive park on six acres of land located adjacent to the new Weston Branch of the Broward County Library. The City received a small grant from the State of Florida, Division of Recreation and Parks to assist with the development of the park. CGA oversaw all aspects of the development of the park from the conceptual design and site details to the permitting, bidding and construction. CGA designed a strong connection between the park and the Library. A paved walkway leads visitors from the Library directly to a large circular fountain and the “Ring of Florida Authors.” The low walk and seating area contain 20 bronze plaques highlighting the literary works of famous authors and playwrights with a connection to Florida. In addition, there is a series of gazebos with terraced seating to accommodate groups of up to 40 people in size. The design of the park also features a “walk of discovery,” consisting of a series of 10 bronze plaques inlaid in the park’s meandering sidewalk that depicts the history of the area dating back to the Tequesta Indians.

Weston Emergency Operations Center

weston emergency operations center

The City of Weston’s $7.5 million  Emergency Operations Center (EOC) / Administrative Services Center was completed. The three-story building is home to the EOC, IT personnel/equipment, Code Compliance, Fire Marshall, and the Building Code Services Department. The second story of the building will be dedicated to the EOC, and serve as a training facility and emergency center, mainly for police and fire, as well as the offices for information technology (IT). The third floor will provide sleeping accommodations for the EOC personnel and space for future expansion needs.

CGA provided site engineering including water, sewer and drainage utilities for the facility, and construction services including civil site inspection, and limited construction administration.  The site was located adjacent to an existing parking lot with active underground utilities (water, sewer, drainage, electric, irrigation, and parking lot lighting), the existing City Hall, and a recreation center (tennis courts) which created unique design and construction challenges.