Redesigned Park Offers Enhanced Recreational Offerings
For families in urban areas, yard space for recreation is extremely limited or virtually nonexistent, which is why public parks remain an essential part of communities to provide an outdoor green space for play and fitness. This is one of many reasons the team from SYNLawn Indiana recently helped the city of Indianapolis transform one of the city’s parks into a state-of-the-art community play space for children with its innovative design and the installation of high-quality artificial grass.
For many years, Sandorf Park has been a rare recreational space for local children and their families to enjoy. It was the only park many kids had access to in the neighborhood located on the southeast side of Indianapolis. Hence, this NRPA Legacy Project was essential for providing the local children with an enriching, state-of-the-art recreational area.
“Sandorf Park has been an Indy Parks [and Recreation] property for almost 70 years”
“However, we discovered during the design process that the site was, in the 1930s, an unregulated dump and that there were some significant environmental challenges that would need to be addressed in order for Sandorf to remain a public park,” says Ryan Cambridge, Browning Day’s planning practice leader and senior associate.
Transforming Playgrounds with Safe Artificial Grass
SYNLawn Indiana transformed the playground by installing SYNAugustine X47, which provides unmatched softness and durability perfect for high-traffic play areas. To maximize safety, the team also installed a 2-inch Fall Pad™, revolutionary padding for synthetic turf, which has superior resiliency and shock attenuation properties. The Indiana team also added USGreenTech’s Envirofill®, which offers antimicrobial protection to help prevent bacteria growth.
SYNLawn’s nylon SYNRye 200 was selected to complete the agility course due to its high safety standards and impressive resiliency. SYNRye has earned several certifications, including the coveted ASTM E108 Class A Fire Rating, IPEMA, and USDA Bio-Based system Certifications, making this product the ideal choice to ensure kids’ safety.
As a result of a complete makeover, Sandorf Park now features a 20-foot play structure and playground made with the highest-quality synthetic turf on the market, an agility course for youth complete with exercise equipment, a multi-purpose green space with mounds of artificial grass to encourage free play, a musical sensory plaza, a track for skateboarding and riding bikes, and a junior NBA basketball court. The park also includes Indiana’s first Multi Use Game Area Court for various sports such as basketball, volleyball, pickleball, and more.
Environmental Concern Poses Renovation Challenge
While the project’s final result was a success, the team did have to overcome renovation challenges. The playground makeover began in 2017; however, the city discovered industrial sand, an environmental concern. As a result, the project was put on hold, and the park was closed for remediation, delaying the project. After working with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and completing remediation, the site was deemed safe, and the project resumed.
After overcoming this unexpected obstacle, the renovated park opened to the public, and children from the nearby Frederick Douglass IPS School 19 were invited to be the first to try out the new play areas. The renovated park is now an engaging play space for all of the local children to enjoy.
Choose Synthetic Turf for Your Next Recreational Project
The innovative Sandorf Park project is an excellent example of the first-rate design and installation offered by SYNLawn’s distributor teams across the country. If you’re looking for an expert team to work on your next recreational project, contact your local SYNLawn Dealer to find out why artificial grass is the best choice for businesses and contractors looking to save on money, resources, utilities, and maintenance costs.
