WORK_JUSTIN W SPARKS_2025

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JUSTIN W SPARKS

CONTACT

Justin Sparks, PLA | ASLA

817.371.6415

justin.wade.sparks123@gmail.com

Portfolio

EDUCATION

BachelorofLandscape

Architecture

Texas Tech University | 2008

Minor of Architecture

Texas Tech University | 2008

AWARDS

Greater DallasPlanning Council

Urban Design Award | 2012

Santa Fe Trail Master Plan

Greater DallasPlanning Council

Urban Design Award | 2018

Dallas Farmers Market

UrbanLandInstitute

PublicPlacesAward|2018

Dallas Farmers Market

AFFILIATIONS

ASLA |2008-present

GDPC | 2012 - 2016

USGBC | 2014 - present

OBJECTIVE

To join an award-winning design firm with a strong commitment to producing high quality work that directly influences both the built environment and quality of life. The perfect work environment would offer me the ability to lead and work alongside individuals who share a desire to create distinctive spaces that serve a larger purpose by connecting people, culture, and the natural world.

EXPERIENCE

Landscape Architect – PM Design Lead

McAdams | 2022 – Current

• Managing design teams on both public and private projects from planning, schematic design through construction.

• Creative lead on design projects from concepting through the schematic design process (QA/QC)

• Assisting in business development and marketing efforts on all sports and park related projects.

Landscape Architect - Project Manager

Halff Associates | 2019 – 2022

• Managing design teams on both public and private projects from planning, schematic design through construction.

• City of Allen, Texas 3rd Party Reviewer assisting with and representing Parks at DRC meetings.

• Assisting with business development and marketing efforts in the sports and entertainment practice.

Landscape Architect - Project Leader

GFF, Inc. | 2011 – 2019

• Leading design teams on both small- and large-scale commercial projects from conceptual design through construction.

• Mentoring and training entry level new hires and instructing CAD and 3D modeling standards.

• Studio Design Liaison for Landscape Architecture - cultivating and reporting on the overall health and progress of design

CONTENTS

RESUME

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

DALLAS FARMERS MARKET

TEXAS A&M CENTRAL TEXAS

THE HUDSON

HENDERSON AVENUE

ALTA WEST COMMERCE

DALLAS CITY FUTSAL

CAPITAL ONE REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

TRINITY AT LEFT BANK

WEIR’S PLAZA

PLANNING

SANTA FE TRAIL MASTER PLAN

TEXAS A&M CENTRAL TEXAS MASTER PLAN

PALISADES MASTER PLAN

THE CANALS AT MANSFIELD

SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY PARK

NOTABLE PROJECTS

DALLAS FARMERS MARKET

MIXED-USE/ RETAIL

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader 2014

In 1941 the site at the corner of South Pearl and Taylor Street in the southeast quadrant of Downtown Dallas was officially sanctioned as the site for a municipally owned and operated farmers market for the sale of farm fresh produce. Three open-air sheds were constructed, at which the farmers’ trucks backed into concrete docks, and customer’s vehicles drove through the sheds, parked and shopped for groceries. Although for fifty years the market was vibrant and busy, it was characterized by exhaust fumes and a poor quality of light, and was hardly a pedestrian friendly experience.

Spectrum Properties successfully won the contracts to purchase the land and buildings from the City and operate the Dallas Farmers Market, based on a master plan vision, which dramatically changed the nature of the market, turning it into a pedestrian-focused mixed use village with food as the anchor.

© Dallas Public Library 2019. All Rights Reserved 1956 © Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights

© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

The ultimate vision for the Market was to create a popular destination not only for local residents, but also for tourists looking for an experience that is authentically Dallas within a pedestrian oriented setting. As well, the existing street grid had to still accommodate the daily operations and traffic during business hours, but could also transform into pedestrian-only space for concerts or food festivals during busy weekends and for special events. Ultimately, these standards helped create a framework that encourages a vibrant street life through the incorporation of wide sidewalks with enhanced paving, for added safety pedestrian crossings with enhanced paving and curb bulb-outs, closely spaced street trees that aid in providing shade, pedestrian scale lighting that provide night time safety, and multiple seating opportunities for resting and people watching.

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - CENTRAL TEXAS

EDUCATION/ CAMPUS

Killeen, Texas

Project Designer 2013

Warrior Hall is the second building on the new Texas A&M-Central Texas campus. Completion of this project allowed consolidation of all instructional programs, faculty, staff, administration and support services on a single, permanent site. The exterior of the new building combines local rough limestone with precisely machined aluminum panels, acknowledging Central Texas architectural heritage while looking to the future. The first and second buildings together begin to delineate exterior campus spaces, creating not just a collection of structures but outdoor places which will ultimately define the character of the campus. Founders Hall and Warrior Hall together define a forecourt for the campus.

© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved
© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved
© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved
© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

THE HUDSON MULTIFAMILY

Dallas, Texas Project Leader

2017

The Hudson is a boutique podium multifamily project that GFF began work on in 2015. The project required a zoning change to increase the allowed height on the site from 36' to 85', as well as increase the allowed density in PD-193 in Dallas. After two community meetings and a significant project redesign to address community concerns, the project was unanimously supported at the CPC and City Council hearings. The project includes 124 units at an average size of 945 SF on this 0.975-acre mid-block site. Among the amenities is an elevated stainless-steel pool with a clear plexiglass sidewall on the 2nd floor terrace.

HENDERSON

AVENUE

MIXED-USE/ REZONING

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader

2014

GFF was hired by Open Realty Advisors and CIM Group in 2012 to help master plan and design significant improvements to the portfolio of nearly fifty properties on Henderson Avenue. The first and most significant of the planned projects is a mixed-use development on Henderson between Glencoe and McMillan on an over 1,000’ long, 3.55 acre primarily vacant tract of property. As a catalyst project for the corridor, special emphasis has been placed on streetscape design, quality of public space making and walkability, with the goal of adding value to the overall portfolio. This vision for Henderson Avenue required changing the existing zoning that encouraged nodes of bar and restaurants separated by low-rise multifamily uses to a more cohesive plan that will allow up to two levels of creative office above ground level retail and will create an uninterrupted pedestrian-friendly streetscape along the entire length of the site. At either end of the site the scale steps down to small one-story boutique retail buildings that respect the transition to the adjacent residential neighborhoods. The planned project includes a two-level below grade garage with 525 spaces, +/- 63,000 SF of ground level retail and restaurant uses, and +/- 80,000 SF of second and third level office uses.

Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved © Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserve

ALTA WEST COMMERCE

MULTIFAMILY

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader/ Visualization 2014

Located on a heavily wooded 8 acre site, Alta West Commerce is a 252-unit apartment complex located next to the popular Chicken Scratch restaurant in West Dallas. Early on, the project team strategically planned the 3-story apartment community to preserve many of the site’s mature trees. This low impact environmental strategy is furthered by the use of vehicular stabilized decomposed granite parking stalls and drought tolerant landscaping that can be found throughout the site.

Adjacent to the leasing center, a 22,000 SF central outdoor amenity space has been developed. This modern oasis includes a 2,975 SF pool with lounge shelf, pool side water features, multiple BBQ grilling areas, a bocce ball court, and a repurposed 40’ long shipping container that has been turned in to a poolside cabana. Other featured amenity areas include a 8,000 SF tree covered dog park and gathering area, a 3,000 SF resident community garden with raised corrugated planters, and a tree lined streetscape with minimum 10’ wide sidewalks that provide connectivity to the adjacent neighborhood.

CITY FUTSAL COMPLEX

SPORTS/ RECREATION

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader/ Visualization

2015

This project is adjacent to the newly renovated Dallas Farmers Market on a former surface parking area surrounded by highways and busy city streets. The project consists of four buildings: three containing Futsal Courts and a fourth containing support and visitor facilities. A running track surrounds the perimeter. The futsal courts are simple pre-manufactured metal structures carefully composed on the site with open sides and roll down side awnings for inclement weather. The actual futsal courts are made of a high tech transparent poly-carbonite surface internally illuminated by LED lighting from below.

The design is envisioned as entirely reinforcing the game of futsal (a smaller indoor soccer styled game currently very popular in Europe and gaining popularity in the U.S.); with the resulting aesthetic unique to the game and vision of the City Futsal operators.

CAPITAL ONE - REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS

OFFICE/ CAMPUS

Plano, Texas

Project Designer 2016

Located on approximately 50 acres on the northwest corner of Preston and Hedgcoxe in Plano’s Legacy Business Park, this Fortune 500 company hired GFF to design four buildings consisting of 150,000 SF each. The new facilities create a courtyard campus environment for multiple related business units in a desirable market. Designed around a pedestrian mall, the central green areas complement and soften the curvelinear site while promoting strong interconnectivity between all four buildings. Sustainable components of this project include a well on the site, which fills the reflecting pools and lake and provides water for irrigation.

© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved
Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

PLAZA AT PRESTON CENTER MIXED-USE/ RETAIL

University Park, Texas Project Leader 2016

For almost 20 years, GFF has been engaged in on-going renovation work at the Plaza at Preston Center. GFF has created sign packages, bike rack feasibility studies and designed facade renovation s as well as the architect for one of the signature restaurants in the center – Cafe R&D, and more recently a five-story retail/office building with a 450 space underground parking garage. Set in one of Dallas’ most desirable neighborhoods, “The Plaza” has become one of the top destinations for the high-end shoppers. With its open-air shopping concept, the outdoor experience is a vital part of the overall perception and success of the shopping center. With the renovation of over 200,000 sf of pedestrian and vehicular paving, extensive utility and drainage improvements, and planting and site furnishing updates, the shopping center has altogether taken on a new look and feel.

© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

TRINITY AT LEFT BANK

MULTIFAMILY

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader

2016

Trinity at Left Bank is a 5 story, multi-family residential project on 4.18 acres in the Left Bank mixed use village, off West 7th Street and adjacent to the bank of the Trinity River. The project contains 337 residential units and more than 13,375 SF of amenities including a club room with a golf simulator, business center, two-story fitness center, generous three-sided courtyard, 1/4-acre dog park, and a roof-top pool. Residents have a direct connection to the Trinity Trails and the river, via both the open courtyard and distinct two-story ‘townhouse’ type units. A 5th floor Sky Lounge and shaded roof terrace adjoin the pool to offer unobstructed views of downtown Fort Worth and the river. The project utilizes a clean ‘industrial’ language of smooth faced brick and dark framed windows as a nod to the industrial history of the site.

Weir’s Plaza

Office/Mixed-use

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader 2018

GFF was hired to help the Weir’s family and their development partner, Four Rivers Capital, to redevelop the Knox Street property that Weir’s Furniture has occupied for 70 years. At the prominent Knox and Travis corner, the goal was to create a new office-oriented mixed-use development, preserve the existing façade of the cherished Highland Park Soda Fountain building and appropriately integrate the two.

The new project will be home to Weir’s Furniture as well as other ground level retail/restaurant spaces, totaling 43,000 SF. Located above is a 250,000 SF, 12-story office tower capturing excellent views of downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. An 800-space, 6-level below-grade parking structure will be shared by the mixed-use functions.

The street level of the building is intended to be clean and modern, with a hint of urban grit, while also enhancing the walkability of the existing pedestrian-scale neighborhood. The Class ‘A’ office tower is a series of shifted volumes that allow the building to present a slender profile, while the building skin is articulated with rich masonry and steel detailing.

© Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved © Copyright GFF, Inc. 2019. All Rights Reserved

SANTA FE TRAIL

RECREATIONAL/ MASTER PLAN

Dallas, Texas

Project Leader/ Visualization 2012

The Santa Fe Trail is currently in place as a 12-foot wide ribbon of concrete, connecting the south end of White Rock Lake Park to the DART station in Deep Ellum but with no amenities or enhancements. The Friends organization desires to have a corridor land use plan, a master plan and set of design guidelines which will serve to preserve the environmental quality of the corridor, encourage consistent, efficient decision-making during the phased development and enhancement of the trail in years to come, recommend redevelopment opportunities and land use transformations within the trail corridor, propose linkages and extensions to connect the Trail to additional key destinations and to attract additional financial resources to the project.

To respond to NCTCOG’s 2009 call for Sustainable Projects, GFF Planning assisted the Friends in successfully securing a grant to design the amenities and gateway features for the Trail. Then in late 2012 we prepared a master plan for an approximate 1.5 mile segment of the Santa Fe Trail to serve as an example or prototype for how the entire length of the trail might ultimately develop.

TEXAS

A&M UNIVERSITY

- CENTRAL TEXAS MASTER PLAN

Killeen, Texas

Senior Coordinator

2013

The planning and development of a new university campus on property of this ample size and distinctive physical character is a rare opportunity. In contrast to an urban campus environment, often characterized by limited land area and constraining context, and resulting in a rigorous formal pattern of building quadrangles, the leadership of Texas A&M University – Central Texas (TAMU-CT) envisioned a campus designed to function in harmony with the natural environment.

This overarching vision led us to several guiding principles which should inform decision making about campus development for years to come: create a unique sense of place for TAMU-CT by designing in response to the nature of a rugged and picturesque site; preserve the riparian zones of North Reese Creek as well as habitat and steep slope areas as permanent open space; create a compact, easily walkable academic core and housing precinct; utilize flatter, less vegetated areas of the property for recreatio nal fields, athletic facilities and parking; develop a pattern language for campus form to include roadways which curve and flow with the topography and buildings set in angular, picturesque relationships; and establish design guidelines which combine elements of regional architectural history with an expression of contemporary technology.

PALISADES PLANNED DEVELOPMENT

MIXED-USE/ MASTER PLAN

Richardson, Texas

Senior Coordinator/ Visualization 2014

Palisades is a 58-acre tract of land in the heart of Richardson across U.S. 75 from the Galatyn Park DART Station, owned by a partnership of JP Partners, KBS and GE Capital. Zoning entitlements for the tract created in 2006 proved to be ineffective and impractical, and no subsequent development occurred for the next seven years. GFF’s assignment was to create a new Form Based Code for a mixed use development that was more flexible for prospective developers and potential corporate campus users, yet delivered a predictable high quality of public space for the city.

Hundreds of community stakeholders participated first in planning charettes to discuss objectives and preferences in the features and design of the development, then later in public meetings and public hearings before the City Planning Commission and City Council. The result is a plan and ordinance that had significant community input and reasonable compromise to achieve passage.

THE CANALS AT MANSFIELD

MIXED-USE/ MASTER PLAN

Mansfield, Texas

Design Lead/ Visualization

2024

This master plan is designed to establish a dynamic mixed-use district at the heart of Mansfield and fosters an activated residential community that seamlessly integrates live, work and play opportunities. Positioned as an anchor of this visionary project, the new City Hall will be located at the southeast corner of the site and serve as a pivotal catalyst for municipal and governmental services. Central to the plan is the incorporation of a river canal, designed not only for its aesthetic appeal, but also as a unique attraction contributing to the area’s entertainment and recreational offerings.

The development boasts interconnected open spaces and includes a defined central park, which emphasizes walkability and a pedestrian-friendly design. This holistic approach ensures activities abound at every turn, creating an engaging environment for residents and visitors alike. In addition to its intrinsic appeal, this development holds significant economic promise for the City, offering a diverse array of opportunities that are poised to generate substantial economic revenue.

Copyright McAdams, Inc. 2024. All Rights

© Copyright McAdams, Inc. 2024. All Rights Reserved

Copyright McAdams, Inc. 2024. All Rights Reserved

SOUTHWEST COMMUNITY PARK

ATHLETIC COMPLEX/ PARK

Mansfield, Texas

Design Lead/ Visualization 2024

In 2019, the City of Mansfield purchased a 138-acre property located near Hanks Street and Jessica Drive for future park use. The 2020 Parks & Recreation Master Plan identified the development of this land, referred to in planning documents as Southwest Community Park, as the top priority for the southwest quadrant of Mansfield over the next decade. City planners estimate the population of the southwest quadrant will double in the next 10 years. Southwest Community Park is expected to be able to serve current and future residents of this area, providing green space, trails, playgrounds, tennis, volleyball and basketball courts and other amenities. © Copyright McAdams, Inc. 2024. All Rights Reserved

NOTABLE WORK

2008 - 2018

PANTHER ISLAND MULTl FAMILY

Project Leader/ Visualization

Fort Worth, TX - 2017

FORT BRAGG ENTERTAINMENT DIST.

Visualization

Fort Bragg, NC - 2016

THE WESTWOOD SCHOOL

Project Designer/ Visualization

Farmers Branch, TX - 2014

DALLAS THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Project Leader/ Visualization Dallas, TX - 2018

FAIR PARK - LIVESTOCK CENTER

Project Leader Dallas, TX- 2016

HERITAGE PLAZA

Project Leader/ Visualization San Antonio, TX - 2018

FIRST UNITED METHODIST

SeniorCoordinator/ Visualization Dallas, TX-2013

ALL SAINTS ES - STUDENT UNION

Project Leader FORT WORTH,TX - 2017

THE HUDSON

ProjectLeader/ Visualization Dallas, TX- 2018

AUSTIN RANCH OFFICES

Project Designer/Visualization Dallas, TX - 2014

McKINNEY GATEWAY MP

Project Designer McKinney,TX- 2015

ST ANDREW UMC

Project Leader Plano, TX- 2017

LAKE HIGHLANDS TOWN CENTER

Project Leader/ Visualization Dallas, Texas- 2016

MERCER CROSSING OFFICE PARK

Project Designer/ Visualization Farmers Branch, Texas - 2017

HERITAGE CREEKSIDE

Project Designer/ Visualization Plano, Texas - 2015

MONT BELVIEU CITY PARK

Team member/ Visualization Mont Belvieu, Texas - 2008

LAKEVIEW POINTE

Project Leader Garland, TX - 2022

LAKE FOREST SOCCER

Project Leader/ Visualization McKinney, Texas - 2021

ALEXAN LOWER GREENVILLE

Project Leader

Dallas,TX-2017

HARVEST LOFTS

Visualization

Dallas,TX-2015

THE CONTINENTAL

Project Designer

Dallas,TX -2012

ALTA STATE THOMAS

Project Leader Dallas,TX-2016

ALTA WATERSIDE

Project Leader Fort Worth,TX-2018

SUNRISE PARK AT COLLIN CREEK

Project Manager

Plano,TX- 2022

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