Preserve at Piscataway Recreation Center and Hiker/Biker Trail

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:  Woodlawn Development Group
Location:  Accokeek, Maryland
Market: Recreation, Residential
Size: 858.7 Acres
Zoning: R-L, L-A-C

Recent Projects

The Challenges

The Preserve at Piscataway is a 1,000+ home residential community with extensive private recreation facilities.  The development consists of five separate villages placed strategically on what were once forested ridges and open fields of the former Bailey Plantation.  GLW was brought in to resurrect the development after a major downturn in the housing market due to the economic recession of the mid-2000’s.  Two of the five villages had been designed and mostly constructed and GLW was tasked with providing design, engineering, surveying and permitting services to complete the development including the recreation facilities.  GLW amended the approved Site Plan to remove a proposed golf course which was no longer a viable enterprise.  A main goal was to provide both active and passive recreational opportunities for the residents of all ages utilizing the vast open space, a putting green, a hiker/biker trail and other facilities were offered as a substitute.  These amenities were a major part of the successful marketing of new homes to be built in the community.

 

The Solution

GLW provided landscape architecture and engineering services for the recreation center and an extensive pedestrian system that weaved through open space and connected the villages via sidewalks and nature trails.  The hiker/biker trail is 2.2 miles long and was designed to minimize impacts to environmental features such as specimen trees, steep slopes, mature forest and streams.  Scenic vista points, sitting areas, open canopy forest, and village connectivity are features made available to residents while still being sensitive to their concerns such as privacy and noise.  At the resident’s request, GLW revised the recreation center to construct a picnic area and shelter in place of the basketball court and to add a putting green and a large, open, multi-purpose play area for active recreation.

 

Royal Farms – Anderson’s Corners

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:  Royal Farms
Location:  Laurel, Maryland
Market: Commercial/Retail
Size: 2.03 acres
Zoning: M-X-T (Mixed Use – Transportation) – Special Exception
Density: 0.06 FAR

Recent Projects

The Challenges

Royal Farms builds and manages over 150 convenience/gas stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.  Royal Farms – Anderson’s Corners is located in a developing area in west Laurel off I-95 adjacent to over 900 newly constructed apartments, townhouses and the proposed Konterra Town Center with over 2,000 homes, hotels and over 2 million square feet of commercial, entertainment and office uses.  Providing gas service to customers required special pollution prevention measures to capture any accidental fuel spills.  The project location required development plans to be reviewed and permitted by multiple city, county, state  agencies that often conflicted with each other.  The site had significant grade change from front to back and consisted of mostly wet, non-compactable soils.

The Solution

GLW was tasked with providing planning, engineering, landscaping and forest conservation services for the project.  Our engineers designed an on-site stormwater management system that included a trench drain around the fuel dispenser pad and a clay liner in the micro-bio facility to prevent any accidental fuel overflow from leaving the site.  Soil borings and earthwork calculations were performed at an early stage to allow budgeting for the cost of removing poor soils and importing gravel and other compactable soils.  Careful coordination between site designers and ongoing grading operations of the adjacent apartment development allowed both projects to achieve more balanced sites.  Additionally, GLW’s site design created a plan that met Royal Farms’ required site specifications while still minimizing earthwork and retaining wall costs.

 

The Towns at Westside

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Project Description

  • Client/Builder/Developer: Hailey Development/Ryan Homes
  • Location: Westside Boulevard, Laurel, Maryland
  • Market: Residential – Townhouses
  • Size: 45 Acres
  • Zoning: M-X-T (Mixed-use Transportation)

 

Recent Projects

The Challenges

The Westside Townhouse development is comprised of 54 front-loaded townhouses on private streets and is part of a larger 56.63 acre mixed-use development that also includes apartments, a hotel, and a retail center.  The property was annexed in to the City of Laurel and built on reclaimed land that had been previously mined for sand and gravel.  A large sediment control trap needed for the mining operation had to be enlarged and converted to a sediment control basin. The basin was subsequently converted to a MD-378 pond to treat runoff from the multi-family, public street and townhouse developments. Designing sewer and storm drain systems for the townhouse parcel was especially challenging because gravity flow of the systems required detail coordination of grading and sewer and storm drain design to overcome a ridgeline that ran through the center of the property.

 

The Solution

GLW provided full entitlement processing services from rezoning to annexation exhibits to site plan approval; and full engineering services including subdivision platting, site grading, utility design, public road design, ADA compatibility, sediment control and stormwater management (SWM) and construction permitting.

Site grading of the apartment and townhouse parcels was designed early in the development process to allow sewer and storm drain construction for the adjacent apartments to move forward.  Sewer and storm drain alignments and profiles were designed to minimize extra depth trenching to keep construction costs on budget.

Additionally, site grading and SWM focused on designing a submerged gravel wetland that could handle both environmental site design (ESD) and 100 year attenuation for downstream flooding for most of the property.

GLW provided detailed coordination with State Highway Administration (SHA) and Prince George’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation for an ongoing Rte 95 interchange construction that included a wholesale re-alignment of roadways that were adjacent and provided access to the property.

 

Arbor Terrace Fulton

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:  Hailey Develoment/Ryan Homes
Location:  Scaggsville Road, Fulton, Maryland
Market: Senior Living
Size: 3.0 Acres
Zoning: CCT (Community Center Transition)

Recent Projects

The Challenges

Arbor Terrace Fulton is a 75,000 square foot, 100 bed, assisted living and dementia care facility located on 3 acres adjacent to the Maple Lawn development in Fulton, Maryland.  Pre-development site conditions required storm drainage to connect on either side of the property to exiting pipes on adjacent properties.  Site access and sight distance were major design considerations when locating the building and designing road improvements to MD Route 216, a major arterial road.  Fire access around the entire building was required with only one access point permitted from the main access road, Scaggsville Road (MDRoute 216).

 

The Solution

GLW was tasked with taking the project from vacant land, through entitlements to construction permits and surveying.  Early in the development process, GLW identified the need for off-site storm drain easements to be granted by the Howard County Public Schools and Maple Lawn Farm owners and their tenant, Harris Teeter, or the project could not move forward.  Having excellent working relationships with both land owners, GLW negotiated the easements successfully.

Road improvements to the main access road, Scaggsville Road (MD Rte. 216) needed to be coordinated with adjacent land owners, engineers and developers to solve drainage, road alignment and sight distance design issues.  GLW took the lead in circulating proposed plans and coordinated the final design.

Fire access for a ladder truck to circulate around the entire building was accomplished by using reinforced turf  and bollards that will access an emergency access driveway in the event of a fire.  This design technique also reduced the amount of impervious surface while still providing fire safety.

 

The Brick Yard – North

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:   Jackson Shaw Company
Location:  13150 Mid Atlantic Blvd Laurel, Maryland
Market: Industrial
Size:  14.69 Acres
Zoning: RNC – Optional Method with MPDU Density Bonus
Density:  I-3, Industrial but Subject to I-1 Regulations

The Challenges

The Brick Yard was the last of an infill warehouse development on Mid Atlantic Blvd in Laurel, Maryland, 10 miles northeast of Washington, DC.  The development is comprised of 125 master-planned acres that includes over 1,200 residential units and office, warehouse, Corporate and Regional Headquarters buildings.  All buildings were built to Green Building Development Standards and met LEED Silver Certification requirements.  The property was originally home to the Washington Brick Company and utilized for mining and brick manufacturing.  During the time of mining fossil deposits were discovered on the property.  Our clients recognized their historic value donated land and resources to complete a 7.5 acre park dedicated to dinosaur discovery.  The 70 acre industrial section is planned for over 700,000 square feet of multi-purpose industrial buildings.

GLW was brought on as part of a design-build team responsible for the site design, civil engineering (site grading, storm drain and utility design), tree conservation and landscaping of a 236,000 square foot warehouse building (the largest warehouse in the development) and its associated appurtenances.

The building and site needed to be designed to allow for a possible office expansion and a second access from Cedarhurst Drive.

The Solution

GLW site designers not only sited the largest warehouse within the development they also provided future expansion space via detailed grading and phasing of construction.  After Site, Landscape and Tree Conservation plans were approved by government agencies; GLW coordinated all site engineering issues with team members and completed the project within the forecasted schedule.  During permit review a new tenant was signed requiring changes to the building entrance location and pedestrian and vehicular access.  Detailed site plan revisions were made and coordinated with the architect to minimize any delay in the permit process.

 

Germantown Park

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:   Beazer Homes
Location:  Germantown, Maryland
Market: Residential Townhouses
Size:  8.5 acres
Zoning: RT-12.5
Density:  104 Townhouses (13 MPDU’s), 12.2 DU/Acre

The Challenges

Germantown Park was the redevelopment of an outdated and under utilized1980’s retail shopping center into a thriving townhome community.  After our client determined there was a strong market demand for townhouses, the next step was to rezone the property from C-1 (commercial) to RT-15 (townhouses,15 units/acre).   To better compete with nearby neighborhood resales our client wanted to include numerous site amenities.  Stormwater design would need to meet current ESD requirements as well as continuing to connect to an existing large pond shared with a convenience store on the corner.  Additionally, site design would need to incorporate an existing adjacent cemetery and steep slopes down to roads fronting the property.

The Solution

GLW was brought in to provide rezoning, planning, engineering, landscape architecture and surveying services.  Our local jurisdictional planning experience was needed to  successfully argue that rezoning the property to allow townhouses would create an improved buffer and be more compatible to the surrounding residential neighborhoods than a shopping center.

Our site designers achieved the desired density and included many passive recreational amenities and a central village green that serves as a community gathering place.  An extensive interconnected sidewalk system links the residents to the amenities throughout the community and to an off-site pedestrian system and public transportation.  The green space provided throughout the project adds up to 4.5 acres or 53.3% of the total property.  Purposeful stormwater design resulted in small micro-bio ponds that were shaped to fit within open space and are landscaped to be part of the amenity package within the community.

 

Miracle Fields

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:   Miracle League of Montgomery County / G.E. Fielder & Associates
Location:  Germantown, Montgomery County, MD
Market: Recreation
Size:  9.1 Acres
Zoning: R-200
Density:  N/A

The Challenges

Miracle Fields is a specially equipped and designed sports park complex in Germantown that gives all children, specifically those with mental and physical challenges, the opportunity to play baseball and software. The park serves communities in Montgomery County, and surrounding counties, Virginia, and Washington DC. Prior to partial redesign of the east-central portion of the sports complex, site amenities included a playground, a basketball court, soccer fields, a tennis court and two parking lots. The Miracle Fields design called for adding a baseball field and two softball fields, removing and expanding parking lots, relocating a basketball court and providing ADA accessible connections to all areas. As part of a design team, GLW was tasked with stormwater management design and site grading of the various playing, parking, and walking surfaces.

The Solution

GLW designed the on-site stormwater management using environmental site design (ESD) practices and principles. ESD’s are techniques, structures and practices that minimize stormwater runoff by mimicking natural water cycles processes. By carefully grading the site, keeping in mind the different uses, access points and water flow, nine drainage areas emerged. In each area appropriate ESD best management practices were chosen to treat at minimum one inch of runoff, the average runoff for a typical rain event. The ESD’s included four grass swales, five bio-swales, and several ponds. The swales were gently sloped to convey water away from playing fields and parking lots. The bio-swales contained vegetation, soil media, and riprap to help slow, collext, inflitrate and filter stormwater. ESD calculations helped determine how much water the swales and ponds could hold for average rain events. GLW’s environmental site design solutions aesthetically integrate into the overall design of the park, while providing essential services such as keeping the baseball and softball fields dry for increased playing time, and decreasing wear and tear.

One Merriweather and Two Merriweather

Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:   Howard Hughes Corporation
Location:  Columbia, Howard County, MD
Market: Mixed-Use Office, Retail, Restaurant
Size:  6.3 acres
Zoning: Downtown Columbia, Crescent Neighborhood
Density:  322,036 Square Feet Office, 24,722 Square Feet Retail and Restaurant

The Challenges

One and Two Merriweather is a mixed use development located in the southeast quadrant of the Broken Land Parkway and Little Patuxent Parkway intersection in Downtown Columbia. GLW was charged with providing engineering and minor surveying services that would assist in establishing the guiding Final Development Plan, create the urban road grid network and necessary infrastructure as well as ultimately developing and processing the Site Development Plans through the County’s new Downtown Columbia review process. Although the project is part of the redevelopment of Columbia, the site was not fully developed and had only been partially mass graded previously. The site was developed as two mixed-use, retail/restaurant and office buildings, each on its’ own parcel. A standalone precast parking structure was constructed on yet another separate parcel to serve development. Challenges for GLW engineers included navigating the Downtown Columbia review process, mitigating impacts the adjacent sloping streets had on the proposed urban buildings and streetscapes, and providing required stormwater management on such a dense site.

The Solution

GLW was brought in to provide, engineering, surveying and Howard County processing knowledge from the initial planning, Final Development Plan, stage through the Site Development Plan stage and construction coordination. The incorporation of an extensive stormwater management program was designed to be integral within the landscape/hardscape. The stormwater management system was comprised of a cistern or vault that was dewatered through a pipe connection to a micro bio-retention facility located in the adjacent open space east of the project, a green roof on the Two Merriweather Building, pervious paving elements connecting all structures, and a series of cascading micro bio-retention facilities between the parking structure and Two Merriweather that also included a pedestrian plaza. A boardwalk was placed over the cascading micro bio-retention facilities to be able to provide handicap accessibility between the parking structure main level exit down to the proposed retail/restaurants located in the lower floor of the Two Merriweather building. The grading for the site was coordinated with the adjacent finished floor elevations as determined by the Architect and the grades of the adjacent roadways. All the while, maintaining handicap accessibility between the parking structure exit and the retail/restaurant entrances of both buildings.

The Metropolitan

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:   Kettler
Location:  Columbia, Howard County, MD
Market: Mixed-Use Residential, Retail, Restaurant
Size:  4.6 acres
Zoning: Downtown Columbia, Warfield Neighborhood
Density:  380 Residential Units, 13.500 Square Feet Retail and Restaurant

The Challenges

The Metropolitan is a mixed-use project located in Downtown Columbia, just south of the Columbia Mall. It includes a 6-story residential building with retail and restaurants at street level. The entire building wraps around a precast parking structure. Although the project is part of the Columbia redevelopment, the site was not fully developed and only partially graded. GLW was charged with providing surveying, engineering and planning services to create an urban road grid network and other required infrastructure. GLW also developed and processed the Site Development Plans using Howard County’s new Downtown Columbia review system. The challenges for GLW planners included following the recently enacted Downtown Columbia legislation that created new site development requirements. The challenges for our engineers included addressing the relationship of steeply sloped streets to a large urban building and its impact to pedestrian and vehicular access, and streetscape frontage design.

The Solution

GLW was brought in to provide engineering, surveying and plan processing knowledge to guide the initial planning, develop Final Development Plans and Site Development Plans, as well as construction coordination. The extensive stormwater management design integrated seamlessly within the design of the project’s hardscape and landscape. The stormwater management design met all regulatory requirements but also created an educational opportunity for Howard County officials to observe how storm water flows and can be managed. GLW coordinated detailed site grading with the project’s architects to align finished floor elevations to the exterior grades, adjacent sidewalks and roadways. GLW’s site grading also successfully created pedestrian connectivity and handicap accessibility between the parking structures and nearby retail restaurants.

Potomac Highlands

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Project Description

Client/Builder/Developer:  Winchester Homes
Location:  Potomac, Montgomery County, MD
Market: Residential – Townhouses
Size: 5.41 Acres
Zoning: R-90 –  MPDU Optional Method
Density: 4.25 DU/Acre

Recent Projects

The Challenges

Potomac Highlands was historically an old farm property that had become mostly forested over the years with significantly steep slopes rising up over 80’ directly from Seven Locks Road to the rear of the property. The adjacent properties to the north and south are fully developed townhouse communities along with pristine forested area of Cabin John Park to the east. The dramatic grade changes on-site created significant site access challenges and protection of the surrounding communities and important adjacent environmental features would be required.  

The Solution

GLW provided full entitlement processing services from concept planning, preliminary plan through site plan approval; landscape architecture/design; and full engineering services including subdivision platting, site grading, utility design, public road improvement design, ADA access, forest conservation, sediment control and stormwater management (SWM) design/approval.

After a detailed analysis of the complex site conditions we developed a creative access entry road alignment and interdependent multi-level retaining wall system that provided a safe vehicular and pedestrian access to the site from Seven Locks Road. This also created a dramatic site entry feature for the project. The use of curved retaining walls in combination with decorative native stone provided an appealing and welcoming entry that maximized the site’s elevation as an effective selling point for the views and prominence of the townhouse units at the site. Our engineers designed state of the art ESD (Environmental Site Design) stormwater management through the use of creative mico-bioretention to provide maximum stormwater management treatment and protect the sensitive downstream watershed.