Depot Park

Landscape Architects

LEED AP BD+C
Florida WaterStar AP

Depot Park
Gainesville, Florida

Depot Park is a $5.9 M, 32-acre park which serves as the center piece for community rejuvenation in the downtown Gainesville Power District. The site has been reclaimed from previous industrial uses and also functions as a stormwater filtration system for the downtown area. The Park includes a Children's Playground, Rail/Trail connections and Trail Head, Lake front Promenade, Amphitheatre, Pavilion, and various recreational spaces for all ages.

The overall concept of the design was to incorporate the history of the Gainesville area in a way that would engage children and the community, educating them about our natural and man-made resources while providing healthy recreational alternatives with Universal Access. The Splash pad is designed to resemble the karst topography of the area and incorporates fossils that historically existed in Gainesville. The CRA has developed a map for children on how to discover them- amongst several other educational programs. Recycled materials were used where possible. The brick material used to construct the benches was recycled from the original Kelly smoke stack that was demolished in 2015.

Depot Park is designed in tandem with the Cade Museum which will anchor the west side of the site upon completion. JOLA was responsbile for layout and design of the playground, park, hardscape, signage, planting and irrigation design.