landscape architecture

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation selected H2M to design improvements to the existing Main Parking Area at the Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park. H2M was selected to prepare the construction documents for this project. The existing main parking area was in a state of disrepair with deteriorating pavement and no drainage system to handle the stormwater runoff to the adjacent areas of the park. In addition, the parking area required reconfiguration to improve safety and overall utilization of the space. The main objectives of the redesign were to increase the number of parking spaces, provide a bus drop-off area and preserve as many of the existing specimen trees as practical. Another objective was to incorporate green infrastructure elements into the design, to reduce the stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces and allow it to infiltrate into the natural groundwater system. H2M land surveyors performed a detailed field survey of the existing conditions, including the physical features, topographical information and tree locations. This survey was then utilized to develop a new parking configuration with a more efficient traffic circulation, better pedestrian circulation and required bus drop-off. In conjunction with the parking layout, we utilized various Best Management Practices such as vegetated swales between the rows of parking, permeable asphalt paving and permeable masonry pavers for the pedestrian walkways. These features will virtually eliminate the stormwater runoff from the parking areas.

The Stony Brook Hotel is a Hilton Garden Inn flag and is located on the main campus of Stony Brook University. H2M worked closely with the developer and the University to design a building that would fit into the campus aesthetic as well as meeting the requirements for the Hilton Hotel brand. The new 89,458 square foot, five story hotel features 135 guest rooms, a full commercial kitchen, dining room, 3,500 square foot meeting room space, a swimming room and spa, fitness center, and many other amenities. Various sustainable design features have been incorporated into the design, including high-efficiency mechanical equipment, a high thermal resistive building envelope, and a building management system. With the assistance of the LEED consultant, the building has currently reached a USGBC rating of LEED Certified. H2M prepared all the architectural, MEP, and site civil engineering and landscaping plans for the project, which involved the development of approximately 3.6 acres of the total 11.4 acre parcel, the remainder of which will remain undisturbed. The site plans for the project include parking for 162 vehicles, a porte-cochere and patron drop-off area, a smoking pavilion, and several outdoor patio areas. H2M was able to blend the project into the site’s rolling topography and design an on-site drainage system capable of storing the stormwater runoff from a 100 year storm, all of which would be returned to the groundwater regime through infiltration by the way of drywells. One of the challenges on the project was to be able to connect the building’s sanitary sewer system to the existing gravity sewer along Nicolls Road. Due to the elevation of the hotel building and the shallow elevation of the existing sewer main, it was not possible to connect to that line directly. The solution was to design a new gravity sewer main that was essentially parallel to the existing one and connect it to an existing manhole further downstream to the north. This also created a secondary problem that required the new sewer line to cross the main entrance to the campus. This was solved by “jacking” the new sewer line under the entrance road without any disruption to traffic utilizing the entrance. H2M also prepared the Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) to obtain the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation SPDES General Permit for Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activity.

In 2006, we began working with the Town of Hempstead Department of Planning and Economic Development in their ongoing effort to redevelop business districts at various locations within the Town. Our task was to improve the quality of the streetscape within designated business districts and coordinate the work with the Town’s Department of Planning and Economic Development, NCDPW, NYSDOT, business owners, architects, and the Town’s Street Lighting Division. Under our scope with the Town, we re-paved, designed new walkways, added new decorative lighting, street furniture, landscaping, and provided the communities with a new look and vision. Some projects were located in West Hempstead, Oceanside, and Uniondale; and involved surveying, complete landscape architecture and civil engineering designs. H2M completed three streetscape projects for the Town in West Hempstead, Oceanside, and Uniondale. The West Hempstead project, which was completed in 2008, consisted of the reconstruction of approximately 650 linear feet of sidewalk on the south side of Hempstead Turnpike between Nassau Boulevard and Munson Avenue. The Oceanside project consisted of the reconstruction of approximately 1,020 linear feet of sidewalk on the west side of Long Beach Road between Poole Street and Tilrose Avenue, and a 180 foot section of streetscape improvements adjacent to a Town parking field. The Uniondale project consisted of the reconstruction of approximately 650 linear feet of sidewalk on the east side of Nassau Road between the Southern State Parkway and Uniondale Avenue. These projects included utility mark-out, surveying, streetscape design, preparation of bid documents, and construction administration and inspection. The design consisted of creating a pavement pattern using concrete and decorative brick banding within the sidewalk area and strategically locating decorative sidewalk lighting, wire friendly street trees, benches and trash receptacles, as well as new curbing, handicap ramps, roadway restoration, and grading improvements. These improvements corrected the poor condition of the existing sidewalks, as well as enhanced the visual appearance of the business districts. The streetscape improvements will begin to connect the various business districts with a more uniform look throughout the Town.

Before being acquired from Nassau County by the Town of North Hempstead in 2007, Manhasset Valley Park had only a small youth baseball field and antiquated site infrastructure. The park, which borders a freshwater stream and pond, was overgrown with trees and vegetation and prone to flooding. However, in 2013, six years after its acquisition, the Town completed the park’s $3.1 million transformation. As part of the transformation, the Town retained H2M to provide land surveying, site planning, civil engineering and electrical engineering services. The Town reconstructed the nine-acre eastern portion of the park into a multi-purpose athletic field complex with state-of-the-art enhancements. These enhancements include a synthetic turf baseball and softball field; a synthetic turf multi-purpose field for soccer, lacrosse and field hockey; and 50,000 square feet of lawn area for passive recreation. The park improvements also include a new 68-stall parking field with LED site lighting throughout, as well as water and electric utilities for a future comfort station and sports lighting. The park, which was originally in a community with a severe deficit in recreational and athletic field space, is now fully utilized by the Town’s residents. The design of the park, which was in an environmentally sensitive area, required that the athletic fields and other facilities be strategically placed on the site to minimize the amount of land disturbance within 100 feet of the adjacent wetland area. Despite the constraints, the design resulted in stream bank and pond edge restoration planting for approximately 1,000 feet of shoreline, walkways along the stream and pond corridor, and an infiltration drainage system sized for a five-inch rainfall event that reduces sediment-laden runoff to the adjoining stream and pond.

The pavement, sidewalk, and drainage systems within the Main Street area of Westhampton Beach have reached the end of their useful life. In turn, the Village has requested replacement of the systems with potential stormwater quality improvements; as well as incorporating pedestrian safety features and an overall improvement of the Main Street area into the project. This project includes the total reconstruction of approximately 2,700 feet of roadway and sidewalks that are in need of replacement. The roadway width will be reduced to 60 feet, with a 12 foot wide travel lane in each direction, and on-street angled parking on each side of the roadway, with the benefit of creating potential future café seating space along the sidewalk. H2M had the existing drainage system piping video inspected and identified undersized and failing pipes. The inspection confirmed the need to replace the drainage system while the roadway is being replaced, or risk having pipe failure in the near future, which would require cutting into the new pavement. The current roadway drainage system goes directly into the Moniebogue Canal, which ultimately connects to Moriches Bay. To reduce the amount of stormwater that is carried into the canal, and to improve the quality of stormwater runoff, permeable paver surfaces in the utility strip and roadway gutter locations, tree box filters, and hydrodynamic vortex separators will be included in the project. As per the Village’s decision to remove overhead wiring between Mitchell Road and Mill Road, H2M is helping with the coordination process. The Village will have their contractor install buried structures and conduit for utility use in eliminating the overhead distribution. The elimination of the overhead utility poles also removes the existing attached cobrahead light fixtures, which is the major illumination source for the roadway. H2M landscape architects and electrical engineering departments will be designing replacement decorative street lighting to provide appropriate lighting for both pedestrians on the sidewalk, and drivers on the roadways.

H2M was retained for comprehensive civil engineering, land surveying and landscape architecture services for a 244 unit, ultra-luxury condominium project for RXR Realty. The project required approvals from Nassau County Department of Public Works, Nassau County Health Department, NYSDOT, NYSDEC and the New York State Department of State for minor variances from the NYS Fire Code. Due to the poor soils in the area, the project required the design of a unique storm drainage system utilizing injection wells penetrating through approximately 100 feet of poorly draining soils. The project is currently under construction.

H2M provided land surveying, engineering, landscape architecture, and construction administration services for the Stony Brook University Medical Center. Consultants supporting H2M on this assignment included Dunn Engineering for traffic engineering services, and Desman Associates for parking design services. Two construction costs for the project was approximately $7.5 million and was completed in two phases (Package A and B). Package A was completed in June 2014 and included a new 630 stall parking field, traffic signal, and additional travel lanes along both sides of Pellegrino Road. In addition, improvements were made which extended the turn lanes at the Pellegrino Road and Health Sciences Drive intersection. Due to challenging terrain of the site, there were significant grading improvements within the Package A parking field as the vertical elevation in this area varied by over 30 feet in some locations. Package B construction was completed in August 2016 and included the realignment and interconnection of Pellegrino Road and Hospital Access Road with an accompanying roundabout. Previously, these roads did not connect and had a 10 foot vertical grade difference between them. Package B featured a walkway promenade with pedestrian plaza, landscaping, retaining walls, and street lighting along Hospital Access Road. Parking access control systems with proximity card readers, ticket dispensers, and park and pay stations were installed to process vehicles accessing the parking feilds. To facilitate the flow of traffic to over 1,500 parking stalls on the East Campus, two 45 foot variable message board signs were installed at the entrance driveway to the garage and adjoining parking field. Overall, both projects included a new drainage system, high efficiency LED site and walkway lighting, and infrastructure to support CCTV cameras.

Hempstead Lake has more than 150 years of history in the Long Island region. Beginning its life in 1853, the lake/reservoir was created by Brooklyn Water Works to supply freshwater to the growing population. Unfortunately, the lake’s sandy bottom was unable to hold more than 15 feet of water, half of what the dam structures were designed to contain. In 1925, the Southern State Parkway separated the lake from the park, and Robert Moses recommended transferring the 990 acres of land and 130 acres of lakes from New York City to New York State Parks. When New York State took over, the area around the park had already become fully developed and the lake had been neglected. Its importance as a recreational, educational and environmental asset was buried and seemed lost to the region. Hempstead Lake rests in the Mill River Corridor, and is a key component to the resiliency strategy needed to improve the water quality and decrease stormwater flooding. Environmental co-benefits of the project include water quality improvements; ecological restoration; groundwater recharge; community, social, educational, environmental, and resiliency components. The “Greenway Corridor” follows the original Mill River from the North Shore, bisecting Long Island and ending on the South Shore. The Greenway is part of the “Living by the Bay” resiliency project led by the Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR). New York State Parks Hempstead Lake State Park will be the heart of the project, linking communities at the center of the corridor. The park enhancement and improvement amenities will provide pedestrian lake interaction and accessibility; fishing piers; ADA compliant kayack dock & launch; a new 4,000 square foot education and visitor’s center to welcome the community and educate visitors on the history of the park and its important role in the community; Schodack Brook Bridge Crossing will allow users to traverse the entire park from north to south. Other improvements include five miles of multi-use bridle trail improvements; a new 50 car parking field with green infrastructure; enhanced bird watching platforms; and interpretive and educational signage. New and enhanced access points will allow the public and emergency providers easier and faster entry to and from all surrounding neighborhoods.