For municipalities, park projects are never just about the great outdoors.
Parks projects usually involve aging roads, failing utilities, stormwater issues, shoreline erosion, accessibility gaps, historic preservation concerns, and tight public budgets. On top of that, of course, parks users expect beautiful, usable public spaces.
That’s where LHB’s multidisciplinary model stands out. Our recent work for the City of Duluth’s Parks & Recreation department demonstrates how we balance the challenges that parks present, helping municipalities solve infrastructure problems while creating public spaces that serve communities for decades.
We bring infrastructure and landscape architecture together
Many firms can design a park. Fewer can solve the infrastructure problems that connect it to its location.
LHB has landscape architecture, civil engineering, utilities planning, structural engineering, permitting, survey and construction services in-house. That allows cities to work with one team instead of coordinating the services of multiple consultants. With one team, the project vision is understood and doesn’t need to be explained repeatedly.
At Chambers Grove Park in Duluth, that integrated approach was essential to the park’s restoration. After the park was heavily damaged by floodwaters in 2012, Chambers Grove needed far more than cosmetic upgrades. LHB helped redesign circulation, improve parking, address stormwater issues, stabilize failing slopes, and modernize public amenities.
The project also included:
- New trails and riverwalk connections
- ADA-accessible fishing piers
- Lighting upgrades
- A new plumbed restroom facility
- Playground improvements
- Shoreline enhancements that improved fish habitat
The park also required sensitivity to its long history as a gathering place along the St. Louis River. The result balanced recreation, ecological restoration, and historic preservation. Our designs also provided enhanced river access, with improved trails and river amenities.
That same cross-functional model carried into Lincoln Park, where LHB took the park’s masterplan beyond planning and implemented roadway rehabilitation, new parking, enhanced trail network, stormwater improvements, and accessibility upgrades as part of a broader park restoration effort. Our ability to manage community engagement, permitting, design, and construction administration under one roof eased the entire process and helped us build trust with city officials and the public alike.
We help cities navigate funding complexity
Municipal projects often depend on layered funding sources.
That process can quickly become complicated.
Whenever possible—and in whatever way possible—LHB strives to assist municipalities as they pursue and coordinate outside funding opportunities.
For improvements to Duluth’s Lincoln Park, LHB helped provide documentation that supported National Park Service grant opportunities. We also assisted with applications tied to local soil and water conservation funding.
At Duluth’s Brighton Beach Park, where storm damage created urgent repair needs, our support helped win FEMA funding for improvements.
This matters because many public projects don’t move forward through a single funding stream. Cities may combine grants, local appropriations, federal recovery dollars, and environmental funding with different timelines and requirements.
We help city staff, already stretched thin in many communities, keep all those pieces aligned. That support can make the difference between a delayed project and a completed one.
We design for resilience and lower maintenance
Municipal leaders are increasingly asking a practical question: How do we create great public spaces without increasing long-term maintenance burdens? Our answer: Start with resilient design concepts.
At Brighton Beach Park and along portions of the beloved Lakewalk Trail, for example, repeated storm damage forced the city to rethink how close public infrastructure should be to Lake Superior.
Rather than rebuilding vulnerable spaces exactly as they existed before, LHB helped the city move certain features away from the battered shoreline. We recommended the creation of shoreline restoration zones that would buffer potential storm damage and the development of smaller “pocket park” experiences to minimize park maintenance, where appropriate.
That included:
- Shoreline restoration
- Rewilded landscapes that reduce mowing needs
- Better storm resilience
- More durable infrastructure placement
LHB’s broader parks practice reflects this same philosophy: create spaces that are beautiful, accessible, environmentally responsible, and easier for cities to maintain over time.
For municipalities, that’s increasingly the right formula. In Duluth, with our help, that led to lower out-of-pocket construction costs, decreased allowances for maintenance, and public spaces that residents genuinely enjoy. ∎
Does your city need help with parks planning or restoration? Contact Heidi or Megan today.
Megan Goplin is a civil engineering manager in LHB’s Public Works, Structures, & Survey Group.
Heidi Bringman is a project manager and senior landscape architect at LHB.
