Balancing organization, innovative design, and community involvement, Kimley-Horn provided the City of Goodyear with master planning and...
Stakeholder Engagement
Strategically selected stakeholder groups with special needs expertise—including a parents’ group and a physical therapist—and incorporated their recommendations into the final site design
Thematic Integration
Evaluated the park and local area to identify how to successfully blend themes together, ultimately deciding on an outer space concept that reinforces the idea of boundless play
Thoughtful Inclusion
Considered the needs of children and their caregivers, including features that support communication, free mobility, safe and visible environments, and comfortable resting places
One of the largest regional parks in Gainesville, Florida, the Albert “Ray” Massey Park and its associated playground are beloved destinations for children and parents alike. However, the playground’s equipment was beginning to age, and the City saw an opportunity to upgrade to a much-needed boundless play environment. They wanted to create a space that would engage children of any ability, including those facing physical, cognitive, or developmental challenges as well as neurodivergent children.
Kimley-Horn partnered closely with the City of Gainesville Wild Spaces & Public Places (WSPP) program to renovate the existing playground and create a unique play experience for the region. We served as the prime consultant alongside the project’s subconsultants: DRMP for civil engineering, Mitchell Gulledge Engineering for electrical engineering, and Computerized Design Services for irrigation design. For the Massey Park Playground redesign, Kimley-Horn provided the following services:
Designing for Limitless Accessibility and Inclusion
Kimley-Horn and the rest of the project team incorporated a variety of accessibility elements to provide an exceptional experience for children and their caregivers, including the following:
- Improved park lighting to accommodate extended hours of use
- Restroom facilities with adult-sized changing tables
- A perimeter fence to support play within a safe, controllable space
- Ramps leading up to interconnected decks in the spaceship-inspired structure
- Tree- and umbrella-shaded areas for caregivers and children
- Electrical receptacles able to charge communication devices
- Communication boards for nonspeaking or minimally-speaking children
- Respite areas for children to take a break when overstimulated
- A looped walkway to support physical therapy exercises
Creatively Integrating Local Themes
A series of solar system sculptures near Massey Park served as inspiration for the playground’s revitalized theme: space. This concept further captured the team’s desire for the area to be expansive and limitless for all children. Blending practical and creative strategies, Kimley-Horn designed a playground with spaceship- and space station-inspired structures, walkways painted to look like wormholes, and a mound area to mimic extraterrestrial terrain. Even the benches throughout the park are named after space missions—supporting the unified theme that helped integrate the playground into the existing park and surrounding area.
Engaging Stakeholders to Inform Boundless Design
Kimley-Horn and the City of Gainesville WSPP thoughtfully determined stakeholders who could help inform an inclusive playground design. The City of Gainesville WSPP led meeting coordination, and our team supported community engagement and offered recommendations on design-related topics. The stakeholders who provided input for Massey Park Playground included a local group for parents of special needs children, a certified speech-language pathologist and audiologist who works with individuals with autism, and the Alachua County Exceptional Student Education director. These stakeholders made tailored suggestions for equipment, playground elements, caregiver-focused features, and more from their experienced perspectives.
Additionally, the City of Gainesville WSPP and Kimley-Horn held several open houses at Massey Park, allowing site visitors to provide feedback on initial designs and elements they would like to see implemented. Using this guidance, the design team carefully considered community member recommendations and added site features accordingly.
The completed Massey Park Playground offers an environment where children of all abilities can interact safely with each other and with site elements. This project reinforces the value and impact of inclusive design and thoughtful consideration of others—from community engagement to theme brainstorming all the way through final design.