Center Pointe Preserve
The Center Pointe Preserve master plan is a conceptual planning effort to show how a wooded 57 acre site could be developed in a responsible manner. Saint Francis Group is the developer. The site is located in Springfield Township, Ohio.
In addition to being heavily wooded, the greenfield site also has a small lake, grassy areas, and rolling hills. It is adjacent to an elementary school and Warder Nursery. While the land is beautiful and natural, access to it is very difficult and there is no parking or services provided for it. Jeff Raser led a design team, which included the landscape architecture firm Human Nature, to create a master plan that would yield benefits to all citizens of the township as well as to future visitors to the property.
The design team studied the property closely, noting particular areas of excellent tree specimens with a high canopy (including groves of Scarlett Oak trees), the lake and its surrounding riparian edges, and more drastic topography. Once those areas were charted and declared off-limits to development, the team created several iterations of master plans seeking to achieve five goals for the development:
to achieve better Connectivity;
to be Iconic;
to have natural land that is Cultivated;
to host a healthy Mix of Uses; and
to be a Catalytic development for the entire township
The resulting plan contains a main street, a large park with a cultural arts and event center, an amphitheater, and a mix of uses including office, retail / restaurant, and an array of residential types.