Redstone Park | Athletics and Playgrounds

Highlands Ranch, Colorado

There were conflicting interests expressed during the master planning for Highlands Ranch's 53-acre community park (now called Redstone Park). This stage involved almost a year of public facilitation to accomodate these interests. The final plan is an active park with strong community support. It includes a three-field softball complex (with peaked backstops representing the Rocky Mountain foothills visible from the park), a practice field, two large multi-use greens, lighted tennis courts, and areas for passive recreation.

A fishing pond (one of the first recreational water features in Highlands Ranch) also acts as a storage pond and raw-water delivery system for irrigation. A gazebo located next to the pond provides picturesque views of the Front Range, and is the highest point in the park. The skate park includes street, bowl, and snake run features. Other amenities include an amphitheater and a playground with a wooden castle surrounded by a "moat." The plaza connecting the ballfields, playground, and picnic areas contains curvilinear paving patterns, suggesting a river running through a canyon. The surface was scored and stained green-blue to mimic flowing water.

Douglas County Schools also built Shea Stadium, a regional stadium for football and soccer, within this park. Design Concepts worked with the architect for the stadium and provided site planning, entry signage, landscape architecture, grading, and irrigation. Redstone Park was dedicated in September, 2000, It has become the pride of this diverse community.

Project Awards