Water Tower Park was a community exercise to master plan 37.75 acres of recently purchased land by the City of Adel to meet community parks and recreational needs. The goal of the master planning exercise was to gain an understanding of existing site challenges that will need to be addressed during the design and construction phases, engage the community to understand the perception of the parks and recreation department, identify strategic amenity layouts, and produce tools to generate project momentum. The project scope included producing and coordinating a community survey to gather data on public perception of existing parks and recreational amenities and feedback related to activity involvement and recreational needs.

Following the survey, a concept workshop was held with a stakeholder team to discuss the existing property, survey feedback, and Adel Parks and Recreation programs to conceptualize potential layouts. McClure produced an opinion of probable cost broken into phases aligned with the master plan while considering adjacent public improvements. Landscape renderings were generated to support funding and marketing efforts and help visualize the park’s future.

To ensure a clear path to implementation, the team also evaluated circulation, access, and long-term maintenance needs across the site. Additional analysis of environmental features and potential programming opportunities helped refine the plan to balance recreation, natural systems, and community priorities. The final deliverables provided the City with a flexible, actionable vision to guide investment and support future funding efforts.

Updated 4/14/26:
Water Tower Park was a community exercise to master plan 37.75 acres recently purchased by the City of Adel to meet community parks and recreational needs. The goal of the master planning exercise was to gain an understanding of existing site challenges that will need to be addressed during the design and construction phases, and engage the community to understand the perception of the parks and recreational department, understand the layout of strategic amenities at this park, and produce tools to generate project momentum. The project scope included producing and coordinating a community survey to gain data related to public perception of existing parks and recreational amenities and generate feedback related to activity involvement and recreational needs. Following the survey, a concept workshop was held with a stakeholder team to discuss the existing property, the feedback from the survey, and Adel Parks and Recreation programs to whiteboard layouts.

A conceptual master plan was created utilizing boundary and topography information to meet the response from the survey and feedback from the workshop. McClure produced an opinion of probable cost broken into phases aligned with the master plan, as well as considering adjacent public improvements. Landscape renderings were generated to be used in funding and marketing exercises to bring the project to fruition.