Evanston Beck Park Expansion

David Mason + Associates is providing civil engineering services, in collaboration with landscape designer MKSK, for the Beck Park expansion in Evanston, Illinois. The southern boundary of the City of Evanston borders the City of Chicago and is twelve miles north of downtown Chicago. The improved section of Beck Park is an existing 5.6 acre park located east of the North Shore Channel between Emerson Street and Lyons Street. The property is owned by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRDGC) and leased to the City of Evanston through May 31, 2032. In 2018 the City executed a lease agreement with the MWRDGC for additional 2.4 acres allowing for a significant expansion of Beck Park.

DMA’s civil engineering services include design of site and utility demolition, geometric and utility design, ADA accessibility, stormwater drainage in coordination with grading/irrigation layout; erosion control plans, assistance with local permitting, and construction oversight. The park site is also being improved on design and engineering to use stormwater runoff to irrigate trees and planted individual plants, shrubs, and vines. This system has been integrated into the underground stormwater management system and uses predictive atmospheric software to evacuate stored rainwater from the underground vault in the event of an upcoming storm, thereby allowing the detention system to attenuate the upcoming storm and reduce local flooding.