The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (WI ASLA) announced recently its juried selection of 2024 Professional Award winners. The City of Verona and MSA Professional Services, Inc. (MSA) were together selected to receive a Merit Award in the Medium-scale Design category for Fireman’s Park.

WI ASLA Merit Awards recognize site-specific projects of exemplary landscape architectural design as chosen by a juried panel of professionals from the ASLA Upstate New York Chapter. Projects are appraised and rated on a variety of achievements including quality of design, functionalism, relationship to context and environmental responsibility, and relevance to the profession, the public, and the environment.

Fireman’s Park in the City of Verona is the result of repurposing public park space at a former rock quarry into a new community recreational space focused on inclusive use and sustainability. It retains its identity as a community swimming beach at Quarry Lake but has been upgraded with new site grading, terraces, a sunbathing deck, elevated splash pad, and zero-depth aquatic play area. A new multiuse trail winds through the property connecting water-based activities to a new sport court, shelter building, and parking lot, designed to be fully ADA accessible. MSA landscape architects led the project from schematic concepting through design and construction, including a robust public engagement program to include the ideas and interests of local stakeholders. The City of Verona celebrated the grand re-opening of Fireman’s Park on July 31, 2019.

“MSA and the City of Verona are honored to receive recognition for this important project,” remarked John Langhans, PE, vice president of the Land service line at MSA. “This project is a testament to the power of vision, reclamation, and the ability to transform community spaces into those that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. Congratulations to the City and to the MSA team who worked on this project.”

This year’s WI ASLA Professional Awards recognized 11 projects across the state of Wisconsin. All award winners were celebrated at the University of Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture’s Jensen-Longenecker Awards Banquet on April 19, 2024.