We are proud to announce that the recently completed Kingsbury Commons project was awarded Gold under the Sustainable SITES Initiative (SITES) rating system.
Owned and administered by Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI), SITES is the most comprehensive program for designing, developing, and maintaining sustainable landscapes. This designation puts Pease Park in an elite group of local green spaces and makes it the first park in the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) portfolio to be SITES certified.
With generous support from the Moody Foundation and other key donors, Pease Park Conservancy, in partnership with PARD, managed the $10 million renovation of Kingsbury Commons, the southern 7-acres of Pease Park, that concluded in July of 2021. Ten Eyck Landscape Architects was the lead designer for the Kingsbury Commons project and sustainability was integral in each decision made. Examples of sustainable choices made during this project can be found here.
“Accessibility for all people and sustainability were our two most important core values for this project. We are proud to be moving the needle on both fronts. The SITES certification reflects how serious the Conservancy is about creating spaces that are both beautiful and sustainable, while also contributing to the community’s overall well-being.”
“We designed Kingsbury Commons to be beautiful and functional now and in the future. We created a natural landscape that will thrive here, and then we incorporated the structural elements of the park into that natural landscape”
The SITES rating system is based on the understanding that land is a crucial part of our built environment and by fostering its resiliency we elevate its economic, environmental, and social benefits. SITES provides best practices and benchmarks projects against performance criteria, enabling the market to quantify and rate the sustainable use and performance of land sites.
Used by landscape architects, engineers, architects, developers, and policy makers, SITES promotes regenerative systems and fosters resiliency; ensures future resource supply and mitigates climate change; transforms the market through design, development, and maintenance practices; and enhances human wellbeing. SITES-certified projects are better able to withstand and recover from floods, droughts, wildfires, and other catastrophic events.
“The Kingsbury Commons project helps to create an ecologically resilient community here in Austin, reducing water demand, improving air quality, and helping connect people with each other and nature.”
“We are excited to have Kingsbury Commons be the first City of Austin park project to earn the prestigious SITES Gold certification. Kingsbury Commons was designed to allow visitors of all ages to enjoy the space, while promoting physical and social activity and mental restoration. The benefits of this project go well beyond sustainable and resilient landscapes and will serve as a model for future parks projects in the City of Austin.”
SITES was developed through a collaborative, interdisciplinary effort of the American Society of Landscape Architects, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin, and the United States Botanic Garden. The rating system can be applied to development projects located on sites with or without buildings and draws on the experience gained from a two-year pilot program involving more than 100 projects. Learn more at sustainableSITES.org.