Client:
City of Crowley
Isabella de la Houssaye, Mayor
(337) 788-4100
Award: Louisiana Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects, Honor Award 2003.

In February 2001, the City of Crowley received notice of approval for two grants totaling $27,000.00 from the Governor’s Office of Rural Development for improvements to the facilities at the Crowley Baseball Complex. Initially, these funds were intended for renovations to the existing concessions facilities at the complex. Indeed, one new concession building was completed. As park administrators and city officials began considering construction of a second concession building, issues arose which demanded a more comprehensive plan for the baseball complex. The mayor and city council contracted Moore Planning Group, LLC (MPG) to develop a long-range master plan which will guide the planning for the new concessions facility and other planned improvements.

The master plan is intended to help the city develop the recreation center and baseball complex in three important areas:

• Provide an overall plan for the future of the facility which will insure that incremental improvements to individual parts of the complex contribute to the creation of a unified, well-integrated whole and prevent costly expenditures which will have to be “un-done” later.
• Guide the development of Crowley’s signature recreation facility into a first-class complex capable of hosting regional tournaments, stimulating the local economy, and fulfilling the recreational needs of the growing community.
• Serve as a tool to be used in applying for and securing funding for other improvements to the facility.

The planning process employed in the development of the master plan included the following tasks:

• Review existing parks assessment and present information that is pertinent to the master plan.
• Establish a development program for the site.
• Analyze and identify physical characteristics of the site and its surroundings, and document opportunities and constraints arising from existing functional and aesthetic relationships.
• Develop preliminary plans to reconcile listed needs with site potential through program development and study of spatial requirements.
• Solicit input from city officials and present analysis and preliminary plans to users and client to test criteria.
• Develop a master plan and refine preliminary plan based upon input, and prepare phasing and cost analysis.
• Develop design guidelines and criteria to support future project site planning and development.