Design that Delivers.
Stories that Stick.
Explore how bold vision, technical expertise, and deep community care come to life in our built work.
With population growth exceeding 80% since 2020, Melissa is one of the fastest-growing cities in North Texas. The City faced increasing pressure to expand its parks, recreation, and trail system to keep pace with rapid growth and evolving community needs. Without a comprehensive framework to guide investments and connectivity, the City risked fragmented improvements. Residents expressed the need for more access to nature, stronger neighborhood connections, and amenities that serve a diverse and growing population.
Strategic Moves
Urban Alchemy Collective led the City’s first comprehensive Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails Master Plan through an extensive engagement process that captured over 4,000 community inputs. Community priorities, including trails, shade, restrooms, indoor recreation, aquatics, and neighborhood parks, informed a data-driven strategy.
The plan advances equity and growth readiness across all six districts and introduces a connected trail network, new park concepts, strengthened open space conservation, and a 10-year capital roadmap with recommendations for operations, programming, and long-term financial sustainability.
Master Plan Outcome
Melissa in Motion provides a clear and actionable blueprint for the City’s next generation of parks and public spaces. The plan positions parks and trails as essential infrastructure that supports health, connection, and community identity. Early implementation is already underway, advancing high-impact projects that enhance quality of life and position Melissa as a regional destination for recreation and nature-based experiences.
A visual archive of featured projects across public, private, and institutional spaces. Each project tells its own story—of partnership, possibility, and purpose made real.
Cattleman Square, on the near westside of downtown San Antonio, is an area with deep cultural and historic roots that has experienced decades of disinvestment. Today, it faces growing pressures related to housing affordability, limited availability, and a rising unsheltered population. While the San Antonio Housing Trust owns key properties in the area, a more comprehensive, community-driven approach is needed to guide meaningful reinvestment.
Strategic Moves
The project is organized around three coordinated tracks addressing immediate needs and long-term transformation. Outreach partners are providing direct support to unsheltered individuals, while a broader coalition advances a Homeless Response Action Plan.
Urban Alchemy Collective is leading an eight-month, community-centered engagement process to define the future of Cattleman Square. Through more than 50 touchpoints, including public meetings, pop-ups, and one-on-one conversations, the process ensures a wide range of voices shape the vision.
Outcome
The work will result in a comprehensive master plan that translates community priorities into implementable strategies. Supported by market analysis and development feasibility, the plan will identify catalyst sites and position Cattleman Square for more inclusive and coordinated revitalization.
Urban Alchemy Collective partnered with the Better Futures Institute to facilitate and coordinate a one-day Policy Lab focused on the “Workforce of the Future.” The immersive workshop brought together Institute fellows, students, and startup interns for a series of collaborative discussions and activities. Designed to spark innovation and dialogue, the Policy Lab created space for participants to explore new approaches to workforce development, connecting research, policy, and community-driven solutions.
Urban Alchemy Collective worked with the City of Pleasanton to reimagine a vacant lot near the airport into a nature-based community asset. Through an inclusive public engagement process, the project team envisioned a park featuring trails, passive recreation areas, sports fields, and spaces for gathering. The study area also explored future connectivity to surrounding residential and commercial development, blending natural systems with recreational amenities to create a park that feels both integrated and restorative..
With population growth exceeding 80% since 2020, Melissa is one of the fastest-growing cities in North Texas. The City faced increasing pressure to expand its parks, recreation, and trail system to keep pace with rapid growth and evolving community needs. Without a comprehensive framework to guide investments and connectivity, the City risked fragmented improvements. Residents expressed the need for more access to nature, stronger neighborhood connections, and amenities that serve a diverse and growing population.
Strategic Moves
Urban Alchemy Collective led the City’s first comprehensive Parks, Recreation, Open Space, and Trails Master Plan through an extensive engagement process that captured over 4,000 community inputs. Community priorities, including trails, shade, restrooms, indoor recreation, aquatics, and neighborhood parks, informed a data-driven strategy.
The plan advances equity and growth readiness across all six districts and introduces a connected trail network, new park concepts, strengthened open space conservation, and a 10-year capital roadmap with recommendations for operations, programming, and long-term financial sustainability.
Master Plan Outcome
Melissa in Motion provides a clear and actionable blueprint for the City’s next generation of parks and public spaces. The plan positions parks and trails as essential infrastructure that supports health, connection, and community identity. Early implementation is already underway, advancing high-impact projects that enhance quality of life and position Melissa as a regional destination for recreation and nature-based experiences.
On Project DC, Urban Alchemy Collective has demonstrated a strong ability to lead a complex and sensitive community engagement process with professionalism, care, and clarity. Their team shows a clear understanding of the nuances involved in housing- and equity-focused work, prioritizing spaces where residents and stakeholders feel informed, respected, and meaningfully included.
“UAC’s outreach strategies resulted in one of the most robust engagement efforts in recent city projects, including over 1,200 unique points of community input, bilingual outreach across all major plan phases, and interactive workshops that led directly to several final plan priorities. They ultimately helped deliver a 10-year vision that is clear, actionable, and deeply reflective of our community’s character and values.”
“Urban Alchemy Collective distinguishes itself through its ability to balance big-picture vision with practical implementation. Their deliverables were clear, well-organized, and policy-aligned plans that have directly informed City decision-making, capital planning, and future investment. They translated community input into clear priorities and actionable recommendations our leadership could confidently implement.”
UAC New Mexico
