Breathing New Life into a 20th Century Park: Perk Park Case Study

PresentersThomas Balsley, FASLA

Principal of Thomas Balsley Associates

Urban Designers/Landscape Architects

Councilman Joe Cimperman

Ward 3 Cleveland, OH

Perk Park Cleveland, OH - IM Pei Master Plan

Perk Park Today

Perk Park 1970’s

Perk Park 2010

Manage Community Involvement Process

Raise Private Funds from Stakeholders & Philanthropic sources

Manage Construction

Develop private programming & maintenance agreement

Engage National Landscape Architect

processPerk Park

the Vision

Perk Park

Thomas Balsley Associates with McKnight Associates

“When you are in the park, no one can see you from the street – it’s not safe”

“I cross the street to avoid the park – it’s dangerous and dirty”

Bohn Tower The Chesterfield Reserve Square St Clair Place DCA Advocates 1100 Building Huntington Ohio Savings Bank K + D, Inc. Perk Park Task Force Cuyahoga County Commissioners Hines The Statler Third District Police Historic Warehouse District Historic Gateway Neighbohood Cleveland Theater District Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative Eaton Corporation Charitable Fund Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. Consolidated Risk Management Cypress Corporation Hartland & Co. Hyatt Legal Plans, Inc. Littler Mendelson Malcolm Pirnie Inc. Ralph Tyler Companies Reed Mazanec & Wheeler, Ltd. and many, many more…

…stakeholders

Perk Park

Perk Park “An urban miracle”

Perk Park Before – Failure, forensics and prognosis

Perk Park Concept A

Perk Park Concept B

Perk Park Concept C

Perk Park

Perk Park An anatomy of a successful public space

Perk Park Urban Edge

Perk Park Urban Forest

Perk Park Populated Forest

Perk Park Urban Meadow

Perk Park Views from the promenade

Perk Park Stakeholder added value

Perk Park Activity at the confluence

Perk Park Public seating “beyond the bench”

P E O P L E

P R O J E C T SP L A C E S

& S P A C E S

Perk Park

“The revitalization of Perk Park played an important role

in convincing BrandMuscleto bring 150 new jobs to downtown Cleveland”

- Joe Marinucci, President & CEO Downtown Cleveland Alliance

Perk Park

“…the renewed space has created a powerful argument for more well-designed public places like it across downtown . . . Perk Park offers an uplifting glimpse of the city Cleveland can become if it repeats this success elsewhere – and soon.”

(Steven Litt, Art & Architecture Critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Renovated Perk Park in Cleveland gives the city a new oasis of urban bliss

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Perk Park

P E R K P A R K T O D A Y

Perk Park

Perk Park

Perk Park “The Little Park That Could”