Public Services
In an artistic effort to bring beauty to the landscape, Gates, Leighton & Associates, Inc. considers how public projects affect the landscape and how a well-planned facility will enhance a visitor’s experience. GLA participates in the development and revitalization of neighborhoods, towns and cities by preparing site plans that ensure large-scale projects fulfill their proper role.
We plan the recreational developments of national, state, county and municipal parks. We collaborate on the planning of highways and parkways to provide attractive and efficient means for traffic circulation.
We also work on schools, colleges, public buildings, and botanical gardens as well as historic sites and monuments.
Master Planning
The town of Brunswick, Maine initiated the Main Street Station Redevelopment Master Plan in an effort to return an underutilized, brownfield site to active use as a distinctive contributor to downtown life in Brunswick. GLA’s urban planning skills elevated interactive communication to a broadly understood and advocated vision for this transit oriented district. GLA’s ability to integrate massive infrastructure with the small scale of a New England community will result in a vibrantly function center of downtown activities.
Streetscapes and Transportation
The master plan phase of Wellesley Massachusetts’ main thoroughfare required over a year of monthly meetings under the direction of the Board of Selectmen. All meetings were broadcasted on the local cable and newspapers to ensure the widest audience possible. This massive effort proved effective when the design development phase proceeded smoothly right through to construction.
Village Design
The improvement plans for County Road in Barrington, RI were first proposed over 35 years ago by RIDOT. In 1990, GLA showed both state and local officials how the road might appear using special stamped concrete pavement and streetscape amenities harmonious with the Town’s historic character. GLA supervised the detailed design documentation and coordination with both RIDOT and the Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission. The road was completed in the spring of 2000.
Public Park
The City of Pawtucket retained GLA to adapt a vacant riverside lot into a multi-functional, vibrant community park. An amphitheater and covered stage anchor the park with the Blackstone River as the backdrop. The Veterans Memorial is the hinge of streetscape with wide sidewalks and benches spaced between large canopy shade trees.
River Front Revitalization
The multi-phase project involved close coordination between the Town of Cumberland and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Gates, Leighton & Associates, Inc. provided all design and construction documents for this 1.2 million riverfront park starting with the master plan, design development and construction drawings and extending through design and construction of seven interpretive sign panels.
Adaptive Re-Use
Market Square in Woonsocket, RI was once a thick tangle of textile mills utilizing the water power of the Blackstone River. Once the mills were demolished, a large, nondescript parking lot took their places. As part of a new design, GLA carefully researched the complex layout of the power trenches and included their delineation into the design of concrete pavers and granite edging. Efficient parking areas were arranged in a triangular fashion so that one or two legs of parking could be closed off and utilized for community events such as the Farmer’s Market, Block Parties and the annual lighting of the holiday decorations.
World War II Memorial
The form of the Memorial reflects the world-wide conflagration of World War II. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans are recalled in the circular blue grassed moats. American flags, standing tall and proud on the Eastern and Western axis recall the simultaneous European and Asian theaters of the war. Ninety-six thousand Rhode Island Patriots who went to war in the cause of freedom are remembered by a grove of forty-eight red maples, our State tree. Flush ground markers perpetually honor those who selflessly gave their lives in World War II.
Historic Renovations
GLA designed a replica colonial kitchen garden to complement the Sylvanus Brown House at historic Slater Mill in Pawtucket, RI. This garden honored the historical scale while accommodating contemporary educational tour groups. GLA also created new paving and planting schemes to facilitate an expected grown in tourism. The design and selections of materials enhance the historic ambiance of this world class historic site.
