The Town Green has been a summer staple for shows and performances, speakers and singers for two summers now. Integrated into the water’s edge along Main Street, this urban park’s most striking feature is the bandshell, with a wing-like canopy and seating for 300.
It seems the flocks of people that attend music performances aren’t the only ones noticing Maple Grove’s landmark. This year, the Town Green bandshell won the American Society of Landscape Architects—Minnesota Chapter Merit Award for Public Landscape Design. The award was given after professionals from around the country reviewed the design and felt it was a significant achievement. Terry Minarik, the primary designer of the project, says the honor was a just reward for the city: “The Town Green creates a dynamic cultural park that maximizes green space, encourages use and improves neighborhood connectivity, but also illustrates the quality of work done by our office.”
Tom Whitlock, president of Damon Farber Associates—the firm behind the landscape design—says the award reinforced that the firm is on the right path to provide innovative design leadership to the communities they work with. “This kind of recognition is flattering,” Whitlock says, “but what it really means is that we had a client that was committed to developing something special for the community.”
