The Downtown Plaza project is located on the southwest corner of the West Bay Drive and Seminole Boulevard. This public space is a passive park at the eastern gateway to Downtown Largo and features vertical landscaped monuments welcoming both drivers and pedestrians. The design components of the plaza incorporate a mixture of natural and urban elements that serve as a transition from the greenery of Largo Central Park, on the east side of Seminole Boulevard, and the revitalization currently in process on West Bay Drive in the heart of Downtown.
USE OF NATURAL, MODERN & MIXED DESIGNS
The vertical landscaped monument consists of three green screens, or modular trellises, with star jasmine vines and custom disc lights. The discs will light up with a variety of Largo branded colors and will be solar-powered. The Largo sign also has internal lighting within the letters to illuminate the Plaza at night.
INCORPORATING LARGO’S HISTORY
Subtle components of the design include elements that hint toward Largo’s historic past of the plaza site. The disc lights hanging on the vegetated green screens represent the citrus and fruit packing plant that once dominated this important intersection. Similarly, the three metallic lines at the base of the Largo sign are intended to be symbolic of train tracks as a nod to the train depot that once served train passengers in a time when trains were a popular mode of transportation for the residents of Largo and Central Pinellas.
ILLUMINATING LARGO
Lighting is a significant component of the plaza which was designed by the landscape architectural firm, Booth Design Group, Inc., and included a significant public outreach effort to get community input throughout the process. Other lighting components, include uplighting in the trees in the interior and rear of the site. While during the day the plaza will serve as a place for people walking and biking to travel through or stop and rest, at night, the visual effect will leave an illuminating impression on passersby that will create a unique sense of Downtown identity and community pride in downtown.
