These past few days have been focused on collecting as much information as possible about our site, our client, and our scope. This has all been done with the conviction that the more informed we are, the more successful the resultant product will be. It is awesome to see people mesh and work together and so far, this has led us to be very productive. Of course, it is impossible to fully understand a neighborhood or a community in just a few days but I believe we are taking strong steps in the right direction and investigating the important topics. We are just about a week out from our presentation of our research and analysis and still have plenty to take care of.
Our site has quite a storied history and sits in a neighborhood with a strong personality. Currently, Riverland Terrace is experiencing some major changes as gentrification leads to shifting needs and increased property value. There has been a recent revival of community involvement focused on preserving and enhancing the public spaces in the neighborhood. The Medway Park community garden, formed in 2015, shows just how important public spaces are to the neighborhood. There is currently a waiting list to lease a bed in the garden. There is opportunity in this time and place and it is exciting to have the chance to serve this community.
Our next step is to start laying out possible master plan schemes for the site. This will be a fully collaborative effort and be included in our presentation next week. At the same time, we will continue working to gather, interpret, and communicate information that is pertinent to this project.