One of Crossroads Church’s driving tenets is to be an asset to their neighborhood. So, when they were given the dilapidated home that was adjacent to their church building, they began dreaming about what the space could become. Working closely with Elements Studio, they developed a neighborhood park where community members can play basketball, use the playground, and relax under the pavilion.
The church maintains the newly established neighborhood park so that they can use the space to host Wednesday night community dinners and block parties.
The Design of a Neighborhood Park
Elements Studio developed the conceptual site plan for the proposed park. On the site plan, the pavilion is intentionally positioned off-center. Crossroads encourages all people to “Approach God as they are.” Approaching God is an experience filled with surprising realizations. So, the layout of the pavilion and the winding walks reflect that unpredictability. With the pavilion situated along the existing drive, Crossroads takes advantage of the close proximity to the kitchen inside of the church. They also use the concrete driveway for setting up buffet tables for weekly community dinners during the summer months.
Crossroads Church used the site plan and 3D perspective renderings to raise money with a Patronicity grant. The church met their goal of raising $50,000 on November 28, 2021! Then the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) matched their funding dollar for dollar.
After developing the conceptual design, Elements Studio also developed the necessary construction documents. We assisted the church with obtaining a Floodplain Permit from EGLE (Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy) and navigating the overall construction process. Pastor Curt Wright was a fantastic owner/teammate throughout the design, fundraising and construction process. It was truly a pleasure to attend the ribbon cutting ceremony in 2023 to celebrate with Crossroads Church and the whole Walnut Neighborhood community as they officially opened the park!
We had the privilege of working with Elements Studio on a park project for our neighborhood and we couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome. From the very beginning, they took the time to listen to our values, vision, and hopes for the space. Their ability to translate those into a thoughtful, beautiful design was truly remarkable. Throughout the entire process, they demonstrated professionalism, care, and a genuine commitment to serving us. The final design exceeded our expectations and has become a powerful reflection of who we are as a church. We are deeply grateful for their work and would highly recommend Elements Studio to anyone looking for excellence in landscape design.
Curt Wright, Senior Pastor