Parks & Recreation Select Works
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INTRODUCTION At REA, we believe parks and recreation spaces are where communities come to life. They are where people connect, play, learn, and celebrate the spirit of place. Our work begins with understanding that great parks don’t just happen — they are intentionally planned and designed to serve both today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities. With national experience in parks and recreation planning, our team brings a holistic approach; we combine the creativity of landscape architecture, the foresight of planning, and the precision of civil engineering to shape parks and systems that are beautiful, functional, and enduring. From regional systems to neighborhood playgrounds, our team delivers plans and designs that go beyond physical improvements. We explore programming, staffing, funding, operations, and maintenance to ensure each project is implementable and sustainable. Community engagement is at the heart of our process. Through in-person, virtual, and targeted outreach, we help ensure every plan reflects the voices and values of the people it serves. Our team identifies emerging trends and growth areas to guide smart, future-ready investment in parks and recreation. Because REA not only plans but also delivers built projects, our clients benefit from seamless continuity from concept to construction, supported by the expertise needed to turn vision into reality.
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Masterplanning
Masterplanning Our approach to master planning begins with a deep respect for a site’s natural character, cultural heritage, and ecological significance. We aim to craft a thoughtful framework that balances the preservation of biodiversity with opportunities for education, research, and community engagement. We start by immersing ourselves in a site, analyzing its topography, soils, hydrology, microclimates, and other unique characteristics. This foundational understanding allows us to identify areas of ecological sensitivity, opportunities for habitat restoration, and spaces where human activity can harmoniously coexist with nature.
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CARPENTER NATURE PRESERVE - ZIONSVILLE, IN
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CARPENTER NATURE PRESERVE - ZIONSVILLE, IN
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Multipurpose Parks & Public Spaces
Multipurpose Parks & Public Spaces In recent years, there has been a re-awakening of the value of play and recreation and their role in fostering healthy communities and activating public places. REA has been on the leading edge of this movement, developing innovative design solutions for integrating innovative play spaces, multipurpose and flexible recreation components, and activated event spaces that accommodate a variety of programming within park settings. Our work has helped establish transformative, inspiring, and meaningful places that provide a lifetime of memories for their community’s children and families. Through projects such as Old City Park and Jasper Parklands, we have developed extensive technical expertise and practical knowledge in the creation of park environments that inspire imagination, interaction, and provide distinctive experiences for people of all ages and abilities. We understand both the technical and qualitative aspects of engaging and activated park design. We understand that to create dynamic, engaging, and welcoming places, our designs must accommodate flexibility and integrate multipurpose infrastructure to support a variety of programming and activation - whether the community desires sports fields or courts, playscapes, skatepark, boardwalks or pavilions, preservation and enhancement of wetlands and naturalized areas, or public art.
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FLAT FORK CREEK PARK - FORTVILLE, IN
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SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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“Tarkington is probably the best example of a consensus that has been reached by many different neighborhood associations... To have something like this happen, you have to build consensus among all of the neighborhood associations, and when that consensus happens, state-of-the-art, cuttingedge parks can result.” Joe Hoggsett, Mayor of Indianapolis Project Grand Opening, Spring 2017
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FLAT FORK CREEK PARK - FORTVILLE, IN
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Celebrate Culture, People, & Place
Celebrate Culture, People, & Place A guiding philosophy in our team’s design practice has been to celebrate the unique story, cultural narrative, and authentic identity of each place through inclusive engagement, imaginative, sustainable, and equitable design, well-crafted detailing, and skillful technical execution. From destination public parks and spaces to regional greenway corridors, large campus developments to intimate gateways and pocket parks, resilient natural environments to revitalized industrial landscapes, inspiring works of art to engaging park amenities, each of our projects seeks to honor and elevate a place’s distinctive voices, history, and culture to provide meaningful, transformative, and inclusive experiences for the community’s residents and visitors.
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SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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THE PARKLANDS - JASPER, IN
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“We cannot calculate the millions of moments, and activities, events and memories that will happen on this land in the coming decades. But we know something about the effect of a major amenity like Switchyard Park on a City’s desirability and success.” — John Hamilton, Mayor of Bloomington Project Groundbreaking, May 2018
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PRAIRIE CREEK PARK - FRANKFORT, IN
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Play Spaces
Play Spaces REA has extensive experience developing innovative design solutions for the integration of play spaces and nature play environments as signature features that activate public spaces and parks. Through projects like Holliday Park and Switchyard Park, we have worked with clients and communities to design and implement custom playscapes that inspire imagination and provide welcoming community gathering places. Whether incorporating natural features, engaging the senses, encouraging creativity, or fostering discovery and exploration, we understand that a thoughtful, inclusive, and imaginative play space can be a transformative experience for children of all ages and abilities and their families.
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FLAT FORK CREEK PARK - FORTVILLE, IN
EXISTING SPACE NET
TODDLER PLAY HAMMOCK GARDEN
PICNIC AREA CENTRAL LAWN
COMMUNITY TABLES SWINGS TOWER & CLIMBING STRUCTURE
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NATURE EXPLORATION
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MONON BOULEVARD - CARMEL, IN
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OLD CITY PARK - GREENWOOD, IN 46
PRAIRIE CREEK PARK - FRANKFORT, IN 48
TOWN HALL PARK - DALEVILLE, IN
SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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Education and Interpretation
Education and Interpretation Interpretive signage, interactive exhibits, and thoughtfully placed gathering spaces can be designed to inspire curiosity and foster a connection to the natural world. Whether through self-guided exploration or organized programming, visitors leave with a deeper understanding of the environment and their role in its stewardship.
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TARKINGTON PARK - INDIANAPOLIS, IN
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“Flat Fork Creek Park is a glimpse at the return of real, retro play… when kids ran out into the woods, build forts, climbed trees, poked things with sticks, tossed stones and ran free into the brush.” Indy with Kids, website and blog
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“Everything that has happened has been amazingly wonderful. But it’s not what we did. It’s what the community has done.” — Ken Buck, Park Director The Jasper Parklands, Grand Opening
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THE PARKLANDS - JASPER, IN
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Design to Support Programming
Design To Support Programming The programming and activation of public space on an 18-7-365 basis is critical to creating dynamic, engaging, and welcoming places and the design must accommodate flexibility and multipurpose infrastructure to support these uses. Our understanding of both the technical and qualitative aspects of placemaking has resulted in fully implemented visions that successfully establish transformative public spaces with distinctive character.
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SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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MIDTOWN PLAZA - CARMEL, IN
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Ecological Resilience & Sustainability
Ecological Resilience and Sustainability REA’s leadership in sustainable site development, LEED, SITES, ecology, and environmental planning uniquely positions us to integrate best practice sustainability and resilience measures into every project. Central to our design approach is the seamless incorporation of green infrastructure and resilient design solutions that provide lasting value to both clients and communities. Our team brings diverse experience in the design, permitting, and implementation of innovative stormwater management strategies—including permeable pavements, bioswales, green roofs, infiltration basins, rain gardens, subsurface detention, and water harvesting systems—all of which mitigate flood risk, reduce runoff, and improve water quality. We take an ecological-first approach to site planning and design, prioritizing the restoration, preservation, and enhancement of native plant communities and sensitive wetland environments. This includes thoughtful reintroduction of native species, strategic removal of invasives, and habitat restoration to support biodiversity, promote ecological balance, and strengthen regional resilience. Our team works collaboratively with clients and stakeholders to develop long-term ecological management plans that ensure continued stewardship and regeneration of these natural systems. We view high-performance landscapes, environmental stewardship, and wellness as integral to a holistic approach to placemaking. Our design philosophy acknowledges that both people and nature shape the landscape, and that designing for resiliency means selecting materials and systems that are not only innovative, but also adaptable to the evolving challenges of climate change. This includes prioritizing durable, timeless materials that are appropriate to the environment and expected levels of use to ensure long-term resiliency throughout the project lifecycle.
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FLAT FORK CREEK - FORTVILLE, IN
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SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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THE NATURE CONSERVANCY OF INDIANA HEADQUARTERS - INDIANAPOLIS, IN
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Designed with sustainability at its core, the project integrates innovative green infrastructure to enhance the region’s stormwater management and urban resilience. Over an acre of permeable pavers captures stormwater, reducing peak runoff by 72% during 100-year storm events and lowering traditional infrastructure costs. An extensive system of soil cells, structural soil, and amended soils supports the growth of a robust urban tree canopy, including 340 new trees, and fosters a diverse pollinator habitat with 3,900 native plants. These strategies are projected to reduce the urban heat island effect by 3 to 8 degrees, offset over one million pounds of carbon dioxide, and save more than 142,000 kWh in energy consumption over the next 20 years.
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SWITCHYARD PARK - BLOOMINGTON, IN
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THE PARKLANDS - JASPER, IN
Community Engagement Our team members are established leaders in working with the public to foster a collective vision for a project. We understand the importance of an equitable and inclusive engagement process throughout the duration of planning and design, particularly for projects of great public significance. We regularly employ a range of outreach methods in our public space practice that enable not only input and feedback but direct participation; we view outreach and engagement as a crucial step toward empowering the local community to guide the final design solution, build capacity and agency, and foster a sense of pride in their place, which ensures sustained interest and ownership in the project well beyond a project’s ribbon cutting.
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Scan the QR codes to view the conceptual renderings. This is a great technique for generating stakeholder enthusiasm and donor support.
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We often conduct visioning exercises with schools, troops, or other young stakeholder groups
Illustrations can be crafted into an interactive 3D model where users can experience the proposed designs through the use of their cell phone. On other projects, we have included the QR Codes on a ‘Big Map’ so stakeholders can better understand and experience the master plan vision.
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SELECT PARKS & RECREATION PLANNING Anderson 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Anderson, Indiana Aurora 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Aurora, Indiana Evansville 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Evansville, Indiana Gary 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Gary, Indiana Goshen 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Goshen, Indiana Hendricks County Parks & Recreation Plan Hendricks County, Indiana Knox 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Knox, Indiana Kokomo 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Kokomo, Indiana LaGrange County 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Lagrange, Indiana Lawrence Park Master Plan Lawrence, Indiana Montezuma 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Montezuma, Indiana Muncie 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Muncie, Indiana New Harmony 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan New Harmony, Indiana Oakland City 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Oakland, Indiana Rensselaer 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Rensselaer, Indiana South Points Greenways Master Plan Louisville, Kentucky Spencer 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Spencer, Indiana St. Joseph County 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan St. Joseph, Indiana Upland 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Upland, Indiana Wabash River Northern Reach Master Plan Lafayette, Indiana Wabash River Recreation Plan Five County Region, Indiana West Lafayette 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan West Lafayette, Indiana Wicker Park Master Plan Highland, Indiana Zionsville 5-year Parks & Recreation Plan Zionsville, Indiana
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SELECT PARKS & RECREATION PROJECTS Al E. Polin Park Improvements Indianapolis, Indiana Bee’s Wetlands Evansville, Indiana Big Four Rail-Trail Zionsville, Indiana Carpenter Nature Preserve Zionsville, Indiana Dr. James A. Dillion Park Noblesville, Indiana Elm Street Green Zionsville, Indiana Fall Creek Trail Indianapolis, Indiana Flat Fork Creek Park Fishers, Indiana Howell Park Evansville, Indiana Holliday Park Playground Renovation Indianapolis, Indiana James Dillon Park Noblesville, Indiana Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza Carmel, Indiana Monon Rail-Trail Indianapolis, Indiana Mulberry Fields Park & Shelter Renovations Zionsville, Indiana Old City Park Greenwood, Indiana Overley-Worman Park Zionsville, Indiana Prairie Creek Park Frankfort, Indiana Robert’s Park Master Plan Evansville, Indiana Switchyard Park Bloomington, Indiana Tarkington Park & North Expansion Indianapolis, Indiana The Parklands Jasper, Indiana Town Hall Park Daleville, Indiana White River State Park, Riverfront Expansion Indianapolis, Indiana
RUNDELL ERNSTBERGER ASSOCIATES
Who We Are We’re committed to making our world a better place. That starts with celebrating the unique identity, culture, and history of each community. We make space for connection, for building new relationships and deeper engagement — and for improving the health of people and the planet. Our work reflects who we are and what our communities can become. Since 1979, we’ve put this vision into practice as a trusted partner for municipalities, universities, nonprofits, government agencies, and corporations in more than 25 states. We are recognized as a creative, interdisciplinary firm with a diverse portfolio of awardwinning projects.
What We Do We’re urban designers, planners, and landscape architects committed to enriching communities through connection and shared experience. We are stewards of your vision and advocates for your story. We empower you to imagine the future of your community through a common vision, carried out with collaboration, creativity, and technical craftsmanship.
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STUDIO KAYAK TRIP
Each team member’s unique experience strengthens a firmwide culture that embraces and celebrates all people and perspectives.
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Recognition REA has an award-winning portfolio of innovative, creative, and sustainable urban design projects; extensive experience leading multi-disciplinary teams on complex public space, urban park, and downtown revitalization projects; exceptional community engagement experience; and a history of working as a team with our clients to plan, design, and implement transformative and highly impactful projects. Recognized by our peers in the landscape architectural profession as one of the leading site planning and design firms in the Midwest, REA has received more than 200 local, national and international design awards in the past 47 years.
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PROFESSIONAL & CIVIC ULI Americas 2022 Awards for Excellence Special Mention, Top 12 Finalists / Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza APA Indiana Chapter, Honor Award for Urban Design, 2020, Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza Indy Chamber Monumental Award 2020, Finalist for Landscape Architecture, Public Art, Neighborhood Revitalization, & Development/ Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza CNU International Award, 2019 / Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza Monumental Award, 2019 / Richard G. Lugar Plaza AIM Placemaking Award, 2019 / Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza AIM Placemaking Award, 2018 / The Jasper Parklands AIM Placemaking Award, 2018 / Daleville Town Hall Park & Splash Pad AIM Placemaking Award, 2018 / Jacobsville Streetscape Monumental Award, Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, 2012 / Indianapolis Cultural Trail Honor Award - reth(IN)k Sustainability, Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, 2012 / Indianapolis Cultural Trail Best Urban Plaza, International Making Cities Livable, 2012 / Main Street Square North America’s Top Twelve Public Squares, Project for Public Spaces, 2011 / Campus Martius Park Amanda Burden Urban Open Space Award, Urban Land Institute, 2010 / Campus Martius Park Great Places in America, American Planning Association, 2010 / Campus Martius Park Monumental Award, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, 2010 / Glick Peace Walk, Indianapolis Cultural Trail
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2023 / Switchyard Park Merit Award, Indiana Chapter, 2022 / The Parklands Merit Award, Indiana Chapter, 2022 / Central Clarksville Redevelopment Master Plan Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2021 / Old City Park Merit Award, Indiana Chapter, 2021 / Monon Boulevard & Midtown Plaza Merit Award, Indiana Chapter, 2021 / Trades District Vision Plan Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2020 / Ohio River Greenway Vision Plan Honor Award, Kentucky Chapter, 2020 / Ohio River Greenway Vision Plan Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2019 / Richard G. Lugar Plaza Merit Award, Kentucky Chapter, 2019 / Flat Fork Creek Park Award of Excellence - Sustainability, Indiana Chapter, 2018 / Flat Fork Creek Park Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2018 / Purdue Centennial Mall Transformation Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2018 / Twin Aire Comprehensive Development Plan Award of Excellence, Indiana Chapter, 2016 / Julia M. Carson Transit Center Award of Excellence, Indiana Chapter, 2012 / Main Street Square Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2010 / Glick Peace Walk Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2006 / Robert Beutter Park Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 2005 / Campus Martius Park Honor Award, Indiana Chapter, 1999 / White River Gardens ASLA Merit Award for Landscape Architecture, 2001 / White River Gardens
Contact for more information please contact: Cecil Penland, PLA, ASLA Partner cpenland@reasite.com 317.263.0127 Tricia McClellan, PLA, ASLA Partner tmcclellan@reasite.com 502.561.8676
www.reasite.com Indianapolis, IN • Louisville, KY Landscape Architecture / Planning / Urban Design / Civil Engineering
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