Award-Winning Urban Infill Project Makes Most of Limited Space
Freese and Nichols’ landscape architects overcame several complex challenges to deliver Colleyville Plaza, a quality, high-profile urban infill project for the City of Colleyville. The project has received the APA (American Planning Association) Texas Planning Achievement Silver Award for Urban Design and has been featured in the Texas Municipal League’s Texas Town & City Magazine.
The City of Colleyville set exciting goals for a half-acre site of undeveloped space within its Village Plaza District: a European-inspired town center that includes mixed-use development, restaurants, shops and townhouses and is home to the community’s prominent City Hall. The City wanted to create a vibrant outdoor public greenspace for the community, a “front lawn” and central gathering place for outdoor public events, community movie nights, music festivals and library-sponsored educational programs.
Challenges included:
- The site’s location and a variety of adjacent land uses and constraints
- A high-profile location with multiple stakeholders
- Maintenance of the existing architectural style of the district
- Working within a budget that had been set in 1998, 11 years prior to construction completion
Innovative Components included:
- A careful approach to public engagement with a variety of stakeholders
- Advanced production of 3D graphics to help the City and public better understand design options
- Design solutions that made the most of limited open space while maximizing budget and incorporating existing and historic design elements
- Sustainable features, including a native Texas plant pallet, water efficient irrigation and more