Expertise

Wendel provides site analysis and development services for a wide range of project types, sizes and locations. We assess environmental constraints, determine best opportunities and design effective, sustainable development plans for our clients. The end result is a specific project design that matches the conditions at the site while meeting the clients’ needs.

 

Developing a comprehensive master plan involves looking at a site or sites at a conceptual level and carefully laying out features and amenities in the best way possible. We begin by learning our clients’ goals for the properties and develop our design to support those goals. We have completed comprehensive master plans for a variety of facilities such as parks, schools, transit stations and health care facilities. These plans provide our clients with a roadmap for future development. Services also include phasing plans, plan alternatives, construction cost estimates and assistance with identifying potential funding sources.

 

Our parks and recreation experience ranges from designing pocket parks to assessing regional recreation systems. We have designed dozens of successful parks for our clients and we are proud of the quality places we helped create. We approach each project as a way to bring out the unique attributes and character of a location while meeting the range of recreational activities local residents want. 

 

In addition to design, our parks planning services include recreational needs surveys and detailed inventories of park and system conditions. We can also develop comprehensive, user-friendly GIS databases to help municipal parks directors manage their resources.

 

Wendel specializes in historic park issues. For the Buffalo Olmsted Park Conservancy, we helped develop a plan that restores key lost park features, improves connections to the community, rationalizes park facilities and promotes equitable use. The Plan addresses restoration in a way sensitive to contemporary park use while respecting the parks’ heritage. The Olmsted Park System represents 75% of all parkland in the City of Buffalo, and the Plan recognizes its importance both as a national historic treasure and a regional recreational resource. We have also worked on park restoration and management for historic New York State Parks such as the Niagara Reservation at Niagara Falls.

 

Wendel is known for our trails and greenways. We have developed award-winning Greenway Master Plans that promote the connectivity of regional recreational trails. We also are experts at implementing our trails plans, from concept through design, bidding and construction. We have designed and built low-impact nature trails, on-road bike lanes, off-road and multi-use trails in rural, urban and suburban settings. We know that details matter – widths, surfaces, alignment, routing, phasing – these issues can affect the cost and the quality of the trail experience. Our trails design is based on a solid understanding of local conditions and local needs. Our designs address the entire trail experience, including trailhead parking, lighting, signage, landscaping and amenities such as restrooms, benches and trash receptacles. We have helped create hundreds of miles of trails in our region. 

 

Wendel provides high quality streetscape design services. Our clients range from quaint, historic villages, such as Lewiston and Kenmore, to cities such as Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Each design builds upon the local character, and is developed with lots of community input. Our designs include traffic calming features, crosswalks, pedestrian scale lighting, street furnishing and other amenities that help make an area more people friendly and attractive. We often find these public improvements lead to increased private investment and revitalization. 

 

Our road corridor enhancements are designed with “Complete Streets” in mind. We strive to maintain efficient road operations while accommodating a broader range of users, including pedestrians, bicyclists and transit. 

 

Wendel’s approach to Urban Design and Place-making is one that centers around creating or enhancing neighborhoods that are interesting and inviting but also contribute a sense of identity, pride and uniqueness to a neighborhood. Involving all stakeholders, we begin by outlining the optimal and ideal vision for the city, respect cultural identity, history, and natural landscape. It also presents a direct opportunity for community members to participate in place making and ensuring that the new development not only brings investment, but also meets their needs as a community.

 

Wendel designers understand that brownfield remediation is most successful if the closure plan is designed with the future end use in mind. On projects such as the City of Buffalo’s Squaw Island, we were able to work with the remediation engineers to take a former hazardous waste landfill and create an attractive waterfront park for the City. In projects like the Elk Street Redevelopment Study, our planners and landscape architects work hand in hand to develop appropriate, achievable end use plans on a neighborhood scale.

 

Wendel provides services for a wide variety of waterfront development projects. We give careful consideration to a site and its intended use, exploring opportunities for both landside and waterside recreation. We consider how best to provide waterfront access, whether through docks, launches, trails or overlooks. We consider amenities such as restrooms, benches, railings, surface treatments and lighting. We strive to accommodate a variety of users and activities, and to incorporate creative design for year round enjoyment. 

 

Wendel’s landscape architects offer a range of services for educational clients. These include athletic facilities (running tracks, athletic fields, ball diamonds, etc.); site circulation (parking lot layout, bus drop-offs, walkways, etc.) and a variety of improvements to school grounds. These have included nature trails, outdoor classroom areas, playground areas, and landscaping and aesthetic improvements.