Love Bank Park

Cherokee Street CID

A pin icon
Project Details
Size
0.2 acres
Year
2024
Location
St. Louis, MO
Collaborators

Patterhn Ives
St. Louis, MO

Honors

2017 Honor Award, St. Louis ASLA
Rainscaping Large Scale Grant, MSD

A stack of paper icon
Project Summary

The vision for Love Bank Park is to create a multi-functional and environmentally sustainable public space on Cherokee Street - one of the most multi-cultural and progressive communities in the City of St. Louis. The curved geometries of Love Bank Park are inspired by Venn diagrams - in which overlapping curves demonstrates areas of commonalities between unique elements. These curves help define program elements and allude to the desires of the Cherokee Street community to create a welcoming and inclusive park and neighborhood. 

The site, formerly an empty lot, was partially activated by community members who placed basketball hoops in 2015, instantly creating an active community destination. 

Building on this grass-roots momentum, Love Bank Park provides space and infrastructure for a variety of activities. An open plaza space with seating, chess tables, shade trees and planted areas provides a welcoming place for neighbors and visitors to gather and relax - or during community festivals, provides a place for concerts, dances and other activities. A large basketball play area in the northern half of the park is designed for shooting hoops, half-court and full-court play, and can serve as a food truck court during festivals. It is the first permeable basketball court in the region. 

Designed with permeable pavers, permeable asphalt, rain-gardens and planted areas, the site is also a demonstration landscape for sustainable design and sustainable storm-water management. 

A picture icon
Documentation
Landscapers planting liriope in the garden beds at love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri
After a nearly 7 year community engagement and design effort, Love Bank Park builds on grassroots momentum to provide space and infrastructure for a variety of activities.
Young local Cherokee street resident plays basketball at the newly remodeled Love Bank Park permeable basketball courts.
A basketball area created with permeable asphalt paving is flanked by planting beds that filter and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff from the surrounding impervious areas including the sidewalk and adjacent alley ways.
Diagram plan for love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri designed by arbolope studio.
After a nearly 7 year community engagement and design effort, Love Bank Park builds on grassroots momentum to provide space and infrastructure for a variety of activities.
Early morning at love bank park prior to grand opening celebration on cherokee street in st louis missouri with view of basketball court, pavilion, and seating.
Person walking on the sidewalk while other pedestrians sit and talk on the yellow heart-shaped benches and seating inside love bank park plaza and pavilion on cherokee street in st louis missouri.
Nighttime photography of basketball players at love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri
Night time photography of brightly lit Love Bank Park on Cherokee Street in St. Louis Missouri
Opening day celebration filled love bank park with people, food, drinks and laughter.
Community planting day at Love Bank Park
Signage used to promote opening day of love bank park on cherokee street.
Love bank park on cherokee street custom pavers in progress

Love Bank Park

Cherokee Street CID

Location

St. Louis, MO

Size

0.2 acres

Services

Landscape Architecture

Sustainability Consulting

Grant Application Support

Public Art

Furniture Design

Completion

2024

Collaborators

Patterhn Ives
St. Louis, MO

Honors & Awards

2017 Honor Award, St. Louis ASLA
Rainscaping Large Scale Grant, MSD

The vision for Love Bank Park is to create a multi-functional and environmentally sustainable public space on Cherokee Street - one of the most multi-cultural and progressive communities in the City of St. Louis. The curved geometries of Love Bank Park are inspired by Venn diagrams - in which overlapping curves demonstrates areas of commonalities between unique elements. These curves help define program elements and allude to the desires of the Cherokee Street community to create a welcoming and inclusive park and neighborhood. 

The site, formerly an empty lot, was partially activated by community members who placed basketball hoops in 2015, instantly creating an active community destination. 

Building on this grass-roots momentum, Love Bank Park provides space and infrastructure for a variety of activities. An open plaza space with seating, chess tables, shade trees and planted areas provides a welcoming place for neighbors and visitors to gather and relax - or during community festivals, provides a place for concerts, dances and other activities. A large basketball play area in the northern half of the park is designed for shooting hoops, half-court and full-court play, and can serve as a food truck court during festivals. It is the first permeable basketball court in the region. 

Designed with permeable pavers, permeable asphalt, rain-gardens and planted areas, the site is also a demonstration landscape for sustainable design and sustainable storm-water management. 

Landscapers planting liriope in the garden beds at love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri Young local Cherokee street resident plays basketball at the newly remodeled Love Bank Park permeable basketball courts. Diagram plan for love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri designed by arbolope studio.
After a nearly 7 year community engagement and design effort, Love Bank Park builds on grassroots momentum to provide space and infrastructure for a variety of activities.
A basketball area created with permeable asphalt paving is flanked by planting beds that filter and reduce the volume of stormwater runoff from the surrounding impervious areas including the sidewalk and adjacent alley ways.
After a nearly 7 year community engagement and design effort, Love Bank Park builds on grassroots momentum to provide space and infrastructure for a variety of activities.
Early morning at love bank park prior to grand opening celebration on cherokee street in st louis missouri with view of basketball court, pavilion, and seating.
Person walking on the sidewalk while other pedestrians sit and talk on the yellow heart-shaped benches and seating inside love bank park plaza and pavilion on cherokee street in st louis missouri.
Nighttime photography of basketball players at love bank park on cherokee street in st louis missouri
Night time photography of brightly lit Love Bank Park on Cherokee Street in St. Louis Missouri
Opening day celebration filled love bank park with people, food, drinks and laughter.
Community planting day at Love Bank Park
Signage used to promote opening day of love bank park on cherokee street.
Love bank park on cherokee street custom pavers in progress