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Stockade Flood Mitigation Design Guidelines

Schenectady, New York

 

Schenectady’s Historic Stockade District dates back as far as 1661 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was one of the first historic districts established in the United States, four years prior to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. As a result of its proximity to the Mohawk River and partial location within the floodplain, the greatest threat to the District is now the rapidly changing environmental conditions resulting in recurrent flooding along the Mohawk River. In order to provide home owners the opportunity to protect their homes and minimize cost-prohibitive flood insurance, the City of Schenectady commissioned and adopted Flood Mitigation Design Guidelines. The new guidelines are among the first historic district flood mitigation design guidelines adopted in the State of New York. For this project, LAndArt Studio served as a subconsultant to Mesick Wilson Cohen Baker Architects, who spearheaded the creation of the guidelines. LAndArt Studio served as the landscape architect on the project and led the public facilitation efforts,  assisting in exploring design concepts, giving feedback on streetscape impacts, making recommendations for landscape treatments and visual mitigation measures, preparing presentations and conducting stakeholder and public workshops, and assisting in preparation of the final Design Guidelines.