Developed in conjunction with the Town of Islip representatives and multiple community groups, the Central Islip Community Park master planning process aimed to turn an abandoned site of the former Central Islip State Psychiatric Hospital into a NYC Central Park-like destination for the Town and rest of Suffolk County. BBS developed a Conceptual Plan which addressed both the previous planning efforts by numerous community groups as well as the existing Park facilities – including (2) existing Police Athletic League (PAL) soccer fields with parking in the northern section of the park.
The Master Plan incorporated a number of passive recreation program elements including the “Central Plaza” with adjacent Visitor Building (concession, security, and bathrooms) and a centrally-located water feature with lush landscaped areas to become a focal point of the Central Islip Community Park, both visually and functionally. Design-wise, the Central Plaza was perceived as a formal gathering area, allowing park vistas in all directions and accessed via a tree-lined promenade from the main pedestrian entrance located on Lowell Avenue.
Other park elements include a system of perimeter trails closely following the site topography with multiple seating areas and information kiosks along the trail, individual BBQ/picnic shelters capable of accommodating parties of varying sizes, a band shell surrounded by an open lawn area, slope seating along a fish pond next to the Central Plaza, (3) playgrounds for age-specific youth groups, outdoor adult fitness area stations, (2) lawn volleyball courts, bocce courts and game tables, and a fence-enclosed skate park with an over-flow parking lot. The Master Plan also included various park support amenities and infrastructure such as decorative fencing, entrance walls/archways, decorative lighting, ornamental benches and waste bins, and ornamental plants and landscaped areas.
Project Facts
- Client: Town of Islip Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Affairs
- Location: Central Islip, New York
- Completion: 2014
- Services: 3d Visualizations + Renderings, Concept Development, Cost Estimating + Budgeting, Landscape Architectural Design, Master Planning, Parks + Recreation, Public Workshops, Site Master Planning