Fresh photos from late June of 2020 show the great potential for the kids of Douglas, WY to have a romping good time at their brand new Boys and Girls Club facility!
Tallgrass (under Amundsen Associates and with WLC Engineering) developed the site plan and play area with the help of kids (kid attended design charrettes are very fun!) attending the old facility in 2017 and waited with the team for funding to come through in 2019. Construction wrapped up in the summer of 2020.
We were so happy that a few of the existing trees were able to stay - a portion of the existing site was an old cottonwood lowland and unfortunately most of the trees on site were too much of a danger to stay! Several with strong branches were protected during construction and provide wonderful areas shade on the new lawn. Now we’ve planted the next generation of trees in the rolling play area that includes many great kid recommended features.
The play area is a large rolling lawn with a stage, porch, and playground. The stage is adjacent to the building where a garage door opens the cool Maker Space in the facility directly to the outdoors! The playground is near the building to make winter play easy and boulder walls step down to a natural play area. Log steppers and balance beams connect to the bottom of the slope where the parking lot drainage has been channeled through a cobble creek bed to the adjacent detention basin (cleaning the water as it goes!). The rolling lawn creates plenty of play opportunity with a winding path, boulders, a wooden bike course, and a small amphitheater by the stage. We expect a lot of fun to be had here, as well as the occasional memorable childhood experience such as the discovery of a bug, a wet foot, a skinned knee, or satisfying roll down the grass slope. This area is made for natural exploration and play.
We also helped layout the drop off and waiting areas at the front of the building which include a great James Rose (LA nerds - you know who I’m talking about) inspired entry sequence with five layers of entry. An entrance to the Teen Center took advantage of the small bit of grade change to make a sitting area. Bus and parent pick up drop offs are separated, and the parking lot maintains the use of the former parking lot on the site that serves as a trail head for the Heritage Trail!
We are proud of the construction team (Sampson Construction) and the owner for stepping into a great project!