When local entrepreneur Joe Albertson gifted land to the city of Boise in 1979, his intent was for the city to create a park for people and wildlife. After nine years passed with no progress, Albertson built the park he and his wife Kathryn dreamed of themselves, opening it on his 84th birthday in 1989. Since then, the park hadn’t seen any major improvements. It began to show wear and tear, with a surplus of geese in many areas of the park. In 2019, the city’s parks and recreation department embarked on a $4.7-million restoration project supported by a $2.5-million donation by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Family Foundation. The design-build effort updated the 41-acre park and restored natural wetlands and wildlife habitats while adding modern amenities.

The design for the modernization needed to incorporate the natural and rustic materials that were part of the original park to maintain the original aesthetic Joe Albertson envisioned. The project team worked with the city, the foundation and others to identify project needs and address design elements that potentially might conflict with the natural look of the park. The emphasis on maintaining natural settings limited signage to key areas only and replaced the original scattered wayfinding with one large map at the entrance. This provided more uninterrupted views of the park’s natural beauty and reduced costs and signage installation time.

Photo courtesy McMillen Jacobs Associates

Grass turf areas were replaced with meadows and pollinator gardens to provide enhanced habitat for native wildlife. Kentucky bluegrass was replaced with a seasonal mow grass meadow, wetland meadow and pollinator blend, which encourages a variety of wildlife while deterring geese from homesteading. Crews eliminated the need to haul off the existing grass sod by implementing a method of rototilling the existing grass into the soil, amending the topsoil and then leveling prior to hydroseeding. This approach also helps treat stormwater runoff.

Photo courtesy McMillen Jacobs Associates

Newly landscaped areas created new view corridors. The project team added new boardwalks, reconstructed historic footbridges and updated walking paths to restore access to existing gazebos, shelters and passive recreation areas.

Photo courtesy McMillen Jacobs Associates

Existing park structures were integrated into the design to create a space that is fresh yet familiar. The new pergola reused an existing roof structure on new timber framing and extended the flooring pavers to tie the rookery in with the structure. Existing stone signage was repurposed, creating six stone benches. The park is a popular attraction in the heart of Boise, so the city and the foundation both wanted to ensure it stayed open during construction. The team trained its field staff to help circumvent park traffic and erected construction signage to redirect pedestrians.

Delays in city permitting pushed a planned summer start to mid-winter, and the team worked with trade partners to execute concurrent work to get the project back on schedule for an on-time completion.