Apr 21 2010
The Minnesota Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (MASLA) awarded a 2010 Merit Award for Planning and Research to professional services firm Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®) for their work on the Harbor Redevelopment Master Plan in Tower, Minn.
The Plan seeks to re-create the City’s historic harbor and reestablish the community’s nautical connection to Lake Vermilion while strengthening the connections between East Two River, Lake Vermilion and the central business district.
A 1960s highway project effectively severed the navigable water connection between the city’s historic harbor and nearby Lake Vermilion. SEH’s landscape architects recreated the historic harbor and re-established the nautical link with Lake Vermilion.
“This new neighborhood would not only conserve energy, it would produce its own energy while reducing water usage and stormwater runoff,” SEH’s Planning and Urban Design Group leader, Bob Kost, explained. “The Plan is an integrated model for walkable urbanism, recreational connection, sustainable water management, and energy conservation.”
“The new development should improve the city’s ability to attract tourist dollars by providing a unique regional attraction in the form of a mixed-use, waterfront-oriented neighborhood with convenient connections to Lake Vermilion and the central business district,” Kost added.
The Plan’s strategies aimed at making the harbor a memorable place where people will be encouraged to park their car, boat, bicycle, or snowmobile and stroll around Tower. The Plan is anticipated to be implemented in several phases over the next decade.
MASLA is the Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which represents nearly 300 landscape architecture professionals through advocacy, education, communication, and fellowship.
SEH previously won MASLA’s 2009 Merit Award for the Highway 20/26 Corridor Study Plan (Casper, Wyo.); 2008 Merit Award for Ore Dock Park (Ashland, Wis.); 2006 Merit Award for the Loring Bikeway Bridge Neighborhood Park and Trail (Minneapolis, Minn.); 2004 Merit Awards for the I-35W Mitigation/Enhancement and the Korean War Veterans Memorial; and the 2002 Honor Award for the I-35W Corridor Aesthetic Design Guide.
Source: http://www.sehinc.com/