A Balance between Nature, Infrastructure and Community Engagement

The City of Brentwood encompasses nearly 41 square miles of stately homes, rolling farmlands, shopping and business centers, and award-winning recreational areas. Recognized nationally as a very attractive residential community, 90-percent of the land within the City is dedicated for residential use and permanent open spaces. To add to this legacy, the City purchased 320 acres of the historic Ravenswood Farm and needed to prepare a master plan, including public input, for its planned Marcella Vivrette Smith Park—anticipated to be the largest park in Brentwood.

Far more than simply a landscape architecture master plan, this unique undertaking had a significant civil engineering and cost estimating component that was rivaled only by the crucial public relations aspect. Beyond the typical park planning elements, the project also required an entrance road, railroad bridge, practice fields, hike and bike trails, and significant infrastructure additions and improvements. Our survey team supported these efforts by providing our design professionals with accurate and detailed data that was used during the development of the plans.

Gresham Smith’s vision minimizes disturbance to the site while preserving the beauty of the land and making the Park easily accessible to City residents. By meeting with and involving the public as well as multiple governmental and private stakeholder groups, we were able to take all of their valuable input into account while preparing the plan, helping to ensure the Park’s success as a valued community resource.