Roswell River Parks—Ace Sands

Starr Whitehouse has been engaged to lead the creation of a ten-acre park on a former industrial site in Roswell, GA. This site is part of a new system of riverfront open spaces that Starr Whitehouse is designing for the City of Roswell, Georgia. Consisting of four parks whose separate ecologies, geologies and histories of use shape site-specific programs, the new system aims to increase access to the Chattahoochee for local families while also protecting and expanding native riverine habitats. Built entirely in the floodplain, the Ace Sands site combines floodable landscapes with elevated assets and experiential green infrastructure to reconnect the Atlanta region with the cultural and ecological history of the Chattahoochee River. A socially-distanced engagement effort featured digital and on-site workshops, prioritizing a program that included: a 10,000 square foot multi-use community building; a nature playground; a fitness loop trail; a woodland adventure trail; active lawns and passive meadows; a kayak launch; an eighty-space parking lot; and stormwater systems integrated directly into the recreational experience. A palimpsest of historic land uses and native ecosystems, the final design features salvaged materials that echo the site’s industrial past, side by side with extensive habitat creation to restore a piece of the Chattahoochee’s riverine ecology.