Hello FLASLA Members! We have lots to celebrate and be proud of within the FL Chapter this month, and I'd like to take a moment to recognize some of the accomplishments of our members. First off, our Florida Chapter was successful in having two members elevated to Fellow-Elect. The Chapter members nominated are Michael Kroll and Mario Nievera. Michael was nominated in the Knowledge Category and Mario was nominated in the Service Category. Congratulations to both on this great achievement. They will be honored with the title at the investiture dinner in Denver at the National Conference. Many thanks need to go to the efforts of Jeff Caster, Chair and the members of the Fellows Nominating Committee.

 

Welcome to the seventh piece of this report series, 'Your ASLA Membership', telling you just a few notes from our national organization over the last month. Remind people who may have lapsed in their membership to rejoin and that payment options are available. Please feel free to contact me at Trustee@FLASLA.org if you have any questions or concerns about ASLA issues.

 

By Vanessa Ruiz Gerardi Downtown Tampa is home to one of three remaining skateparks in the United States from the golden era of skateparks in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The concrete bowl was built in 1978 within the Perry Harvey Sr. Park in the Central Avenue neighborhood, just two years after the first skatepark was built in Port Orange, Fla. Between then and 1982, approximately 200 skateparks were built. As one of the three remaining examples of original 1970s skatepark architecture, the "Bro Bowl," as it is affectionately known by its users, has become a beloved destination for skateboarders throughout the world. The original concrete structure has been well-preserved by both the City and the local skateboarding community. The future of the skatepark, however, is currently under threat of demolition by the City of Tampa, and the threat is not being taken lightly by the skateboarding community.

 

The Department of Landscape Architecture celebrated the retirement of Associate Professor Bob Grist, FASLA, at the end of the spring semester after 30 years at the University of Florida (including seven years as Chair of the Department).

 

This project was a collaboration between the Bahamian Government and a private Developer on the island of New Providence, Bahamas. Located at Cable Beach, the Developer desired to build one of the largest resort destinations in the Bahamian Islands. In this process, the Developer traded part of his land to relocate an existing roadway, which featured a linear park and commercial properties. The realignment included one mile of an improved four-lane, divided roadway, a new commercial center, and a new 60-foot-wide linear park running along the south side of the roadway. The Bahamian Government desired that this new roadway, designed to British Standards, accommodate safe vehicular flow as well as an open space public park and walkway system for local residents and visitors. The old West Bay Street was a popular walkway system. The new linear park system had to have similar aesthetic appeal, allow functional space, and utilize as much existing native vegetation as possible.

 

Changing a blighted beachfront environment into a public resort destination was the challenge of the landscape architect in Pompano Beach. Until recently, the City of Pompano Beach and their East Community Redevelopment Agency had been unsuccessful in the revitalization of their beachfront. The City had not effectively capitalized on their most significant natural resource -- the beach. With new leadership at the City and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), the landscape architect created and executed a new vision for the ? of a mile of the beachfront corridor. The purpose of the project was to stimulate activity along the beach and craft an oceanfront pedestrian promenade, vibrant and uniquely branded, for residents and tourists.

 

Similar to many municipalities across the state and the nation, Miami-Dade County is experiencing a dramatic shift in economic resources for an ever-changing and multicultural population. With this change in economic resources and demographics comes a shift in the recreational needs and desires of the community. With very little undeveloped land available in certain areas of Miami-Dade County, the Park, Recreation and Open Spaces Department is challenged to meet the complex recreational needs and desires of this changing demographic by redesigning some of their existing parks with limited financial resources.