The Balfour Beatty and Holt Brothers Construction joint venture has successfully completed the Gipson Play Plaza at Dorothea Dix Park (Dix Park), delivering an extraordinary adventure playground that is the largest in the Southeast. The plaza serves as the centerpiece of Phase 1 of the Dix Park Master Plan, transforming the 308-acre historic site into a world-class destination for families and community members of all ages and abilities.
The 18.5-acre Gipson Play Plaza represents one of the region's most complex park construction projects, requiring advanced engineering solutions, custom fabrication and innovative construction techniques across 10 distinct play zones. The project's complexity demanded close collaboration between the joint venture partners, the City of Raleigh, design teams and specialised tradespeople.
Jeff Sandeen, Balfour Beatty President in the Carolinas said: "This project exemplifies what's possible when innovative construction techniques meet visionary design.
"Our team's ability to adapt and problem-solve in real-time, from delivering complex soil integration to stonework, demonstrates the depth of expertise that our joint venture brings to transformative community park projects. We are proud of our project teammates and industry partners who leveraged their extensive experience to make the Gipson Play Plaza a reality in Raleigh."
The construction team overcame significant challenges on the 100-year-old site, including strategic powerline relocation accomplished ahead of schedule through collaborative work with Duke Power. The team employed cutting-edge drone technology to map previously undocumented underground utilities across the expansive site, creating detailed photomosaics integrated into construction models to prevent costly conflicts and ensure precise planning.
One of the project's most intricate elements was the elaborate stone archway and ceiling construction at the Fountain Plaza play zone. The team spent months coordinating with expert masons and carpenters to hand-cut and finish each stone for its specific placement. Custom cribbing and scaffolding systems were engineered to support the substantial weight of the stone ceiling during construction, ultimately creating a concaved, wavy stone ceiling behind the waterfall that allows visitors to experience standing behind an Appalachian Mountain waterfall.
Other key construction play zone highlights include Slide Valley’s four multi-story climbing towers with an innovative underground slide requiring specialised excavation and waterproofing; Watermill Mountain's cascading waterplay with engineered flow systems feeding the Sand Bowl's dual wet/dry zones that create a beach-like experience; and the Swing Terrace’s 91-foot swing requiring precise structural engineering for dynamic loads while providing views of the Raleigh skyline.
The joint venture team also successfully integrated existing site soils with new design-intent materials through innovative on-site conditioning techniques, using mechanical aeration to blend materials without costly excavation, preserving both schedule and budget while meeting specifications.
Jonte Harris, Holt Brothers Construction Senior Project Manager said:: “The Gipson Play Plaza is more than just another project for our team. Parks have become one of my favorite project types because they're built to grow and serve communities for many years to come.
“This is a space that I'm proud to have played a major part in building, and I love knowing it can be enjoyed by people of all ages for generations. This project truly has something for everyone—it's a hybrid park that I've had the privilege of watching evolve from concept to design to reality.”
Gipson Play Plaza was designed with universal accessibility as a core principle, featuring ADA-accessible routes connecting all major play areas, 10 restroom cabanas with changing facilities and pathways designed for users of all abilities. Additional zones include the Sensory Maze hedge labyrinth with interactive elements, Picnic Grove with 22 tables made from reclaimed Dix Park wood, House of Many Porches market and Kitchen Garden and the tranquil Woodland Garden.
Stephen C. Bentley, Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources for the City of Raleigh said: “We’re so excited to celebrate the opening of this extensive play plaza for all of Raleigh, and the significant milestone in the planned development of Dix Park.
“Gipson Play Plaza was a grand vision of imagination, and it required a construction partner with strong knowledge, commitment, and creativity in problem solving to become reality.”
The successful delivery of the Gipson Play Plaza builds upon the established partnership between Balfour Beatty and Holt Brothers Construction, combining decades of expertise with a proven track record of delivering complex construction projects in the area including the Southeast Raleigh YMCA and Wake County Elementary School, Wilson YMCA and the North Carolina Central University’s Student Center.
The Gipson Play Plaza at Dix Park is now open to the greater Raleigh community. For more information, visit dixpark.org/gipsonplayplaza.
ENDS
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Notes to editors:
About Balfour Beatty
• Balfour Beatty is a leading international infrastructure group with over 27,000 employees driving the delivery of powerful new solutions, shaping thinking, creating skylines and inspiring a new generation of talent to be the change-makers of tomorrow.
• We finance, develop, build, maintain and operate the increasingly complex and critical infrastructure that supports national economies and deliver projects at the heart of local communities.
• Over the last 116 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world. Currently, we are working to deliver Hinkley Point C, the first UK nuclear power station in a generation; constructing the world-class arts and cultural facility, the Lyric Theatre, in Hong Kong; and designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining the Automated People Mover superstructure at one of the busiest airports in the world, Los Angeles International Airport.
About Balfour Beatty US
• Balfour Beatty’s US construction business is an industry-leading provider of general contracting, at-risk construction management and design-build services for public and private sector clients across the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company performs heavy civil, rail and a broad variety of vertical construction, and part of Balfour Beatty plc a leading UK listed international infrastructure Group with interests in the UK, US and Hong Kong. Balfour Beatty’s US construction business is ranked among the top domestic building contractors in the United States by Engineering News-Record. To learn more, visit www.balfourbeattyus.com.
Image: Gipson Play Plaza at Dix Park
