Omaha, NE — The Gene Leahy Mall at the RiverFront, formerly known as Central Park Mall, is a 9.6-acre park in downtown Omaha, originally built in the 1970s to provide a green space in the center of the city. The team from SYNLawn Nebraska collaborated with OJB, a collective landscape and urban planning practice, Kiewit Corporation, and Lanoha Nurseries to transform the park into a green oasis. The collaborative teams accomplished this by redesigning the entire area, raising the park to the street level, and adding 40,000 square feet of lawn space featuring new recreational amenities for the community to enjoy.
Designing a Revitalized Recreational Space
The Metropolitan Entertainment and Convention Authority (MECA) of Omaha hired the four companies to design a revitalized recreation space that would include new and improved features. The Omaha Park features include a state-of-the-art playground, a modern dog park, a performance pavilion for live entertainment, a sculpture garden filled with public art pieces from international artists, and a nature trail guiding visitors through a garden featuring native plants, fire pits, and seating areas.
Part of the design process required all of the teams involved to preserve iconic park artifacts like the Solo Building Archway and the beloved metal-and-concrete slides in the playground.
Transforming the Omaha Park with Artificial Turf
SYNLawn transformed three separate areas of the Omaha park with artificial turf, including the new and improved playground and the dog park.
SYNLawn Nebraska used 12,759 square feet of Play Platinum to enhance the playground amenities. Several improvements were made to this recreation space, including a rope forest, a wooden deck for climbing, a rock wall, a concrete overlay for the existing slides, shade canopies to keep parents and guardians comfortable, three new slides and the addition of a hill for kids to roll and sled down. SYNLawn’s Play Platinum is the safest artificial grass to use in spaces for children since it’s made with Super Yarn™ technology with heat reflective, anti-static, Sanitized® and non-abrasive grass blades. This type of turf also has a Class A fire rating to ensure the synthetic surfacing meets all standards for playground use.
The team installed 3,620 square feet of Pet Platinum to create the dog park, offering two separate areas for smaller and larger dogs. SYNLawn Nebraska added turf mounds for both sides for dogs to climb and use for agility training. Dog-level water fountains were also added to keep four-legged guests hydrated and cool. Pet Platinum is the ideal turf for dogs of all sizes. It’s designed for maximum drainage and long-lasting durability, plus it provides low surface temperatures to keep pups’ paws safe.
SYNLawn Nebraska faced numerous challenges, including triple-digit temperatures, but they rose to the challenge to complete the project in record time. The team was proud to deliver a beautiful green oasis that visitors of all ages will be able to enjoy with their families, friends, and pets.
Select SYNLawn for Recreation Projects
The renovation of this well-known Omaha Park is a great example of the innovative design and installation work our highly skilled teams can provide for any type of recreation project. Contact your local SYNLawn distributor to learn more.
