Boston Parks and Recreation Department selected Weston & Sampson to design a contemporary park that links East Boston’s Maverick Gardens neighborhood back to the water and strengthens pedestrian connections to the surrounding community. This premiere location boasts some of the most dramatic and sweeping views of the Boston skyline, July 4th fireworks, and spectacular sunsets. LoPresti functions as an intensely used neighborhood park and playground, and is frequented by residents who arrive mostly on foot or by bike.
The most recent improvements at LoPresti Park provide a number of active recreational amenities, including new basketball courts, a children’s playground, splash pad, fitness equipment, an open lawn, and a synthetic turf playing field that is lit for night use. Passive activities are organized in a way to complement the amazing vistas throughout the park. A renovated harborwalk promenade frames the park and facilitates pedestrian circulation. Additional programming includes seating, ping-pong, and a kayak launch that provides direct access to the harbor. The park’s new main entry plaza rests directly across from the Maverick Gardens housing development and frames sweeping views of the city. The Sumner and Callahan Tunnels run below the park, with their locations marked in bands of etched pavement in the park. As a waterfront park, climate resilience and sea level rise were central to the design strategy. Elements of the park were raised to provide protection from rising tides and recover quickly from storm inundation.
In addition, as part of our project work, Weston & Sampson’s environmental professionals collaborated with our landscape architects since the site is regulated under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan (MCP) (release tracking number (RTN) 3-4398); the site contained petroleum hydrocarbon contamination and lead impacted soils. Our team sampled the soil stockpiled at the site to evaluate reuse/ disposal options; reviewed existing reports/maps; assessed potential impacts of the park improvements; and performed a risk evaluation for current/future site uses.
- active and passive recreational designs
- waterfront amenities
- harborwalk promenade and improved pedestrian connections
- synthetic turf fields, basketball courts, playground/splash pad facilities
- environmental evaluations/ assessments