Urban Alchemy Collective logo – urban planning, landscape architecture, and community engagement firm in Texas and New Mexico

Projects / Parks & Recreation

Phillips Quarry Park

From Master Plan to Implementation

CLIENT

City of Melissa

LOCATION

Melissa, Texas

COMPLETED

est. 2028

INITIATIVE

Quality of Life

Aerial rendering of Phillips Quarry Park Phase 1 with quarry lake, pavilion, and trails – landscape architecture led by Colt Yorek of Urban Alchemy Collective

Quarry → Park

0 ACRES

OF NEW PUBLIC PARKLAND

$ 0 M

PHASE 1 INVESTMENT

0 + MILES

OF NEW TRAILS

0 Quarry

REIMAGINED

GALLERY

Rock outcroppings and native trees along the quarry lake at Phillips Quarry Park – landscape architecture site study by Urban Alchemy Collective

A Landscape Worth Rediscovering

Sunlit quarry lake at the future Phillips Quarry Park – site visit for landscape architecture and parks planning by Urban Alchemy Collective
Limestone bluffs and calm water at the Phillips Quarry Park site – existing conditions documented for parks planning by Urban Alchemy Collective

Adventure Starts at the Edge

Overall perspective rendering of Phillips Quarry Park with boardwalk, kayak launch, zipline, and playground – landscape architecture by Urban Alchemy Collective

From Quarry to Community Destination

Quarry lake with limestone cliffs at the Phillips Quarry Park site – site analysis for parks planning by Urban Alchemy Collective

A Foundation for Adventure

Phillips Quarry Park Phase 1 master plan map showing trails, picnic areas, and pollinator garden – parks planning by Urban Alchemy Collective

ON THIS PAGE

SERVICES PROVIDED

Urban Alchemy Collective provided:

Landscape architecture

Urban planning

Community engagement

Visioning and master planning

Site design

Stakeholder facilitation

Public outreach

Strategic planning

Development consulting

Implementation planning

OVERVIEW

For years, Phillips Quarry sat largely inaccessible, remembered by longtime Melissa residents but disconnected from the city’s everyday public life.

As Melissa continued to grow, the former quarry presented a rare opportunity: transform a dramatic, water-filled landscape into a regional destination built around adventure, nature, and community.

Urban Alchemy Collective worked with the City of Melissa to establish a vision for Phillips Quarry Park that celebrates the site’s defining features rather than designing around them. Through feasibility analysis, master planning, community engagement, and implementation-focused design, the quarry became the foundation for a new kind of park experience, offering opportunities on the water, under the water, and over the water.

RESULTS

Phillips Quarry Park now has a defined master plan and a clear path toward implementation, transforming a long-dormant property into a future regional recreation destination.

The project:

  • Advances approximately 25.7 acres of new public parkland in Phase 1
  • Represents a planned $5.67 million Phase 1 investment
  • Introduces 0.60 miles of ADA-accessible concrete trail
  • Adds 0.43 miles of natural-surface trail
  • Includes an ADA-accessible pavilion and restroom
  • Creates picnic areas and an 85-space parking lot
  • Adds lighting, signage, utilities, site furnishings, and native landscaping
  • Establishes the infrastructure needed to safely open the quarry to the public
  • Creates a foundation for future adventure, nature-based, and water-oriented recreation

THE OPPORTUNITY

Phillips Quarry Park offered Melissa the chance to transform a familiar but long-inaccessible property into a signature community destination.

The park needed to:

01

Celebrate the quarry’s water, limestone walls, mature vegetation, and dramatic terrain

02

Introduce new adventure and nature-based recreation opportunities not currently available in Melissa

03

Provide accessible trails, amenities, gathering spaces, and public infrastructure

04

Connect the park to Melissa’s broader trail, parks, and recreation network

05

Create a realistic phased strategy that could move the park from vision to implementation

OUR APPROACH

Because the park vision emerged from Melissa’s broader Parks, Recreation, Open Space and Trails planning effort, our team was able to connect citywide recreation priorities directly to the opportunities presented by the quarry itself.

Urban Alchemy Collective provided:

Landscape architecture

Urban planning

Community engagement

Visioning and master planning

Site design

Stakeholder facilitation

Public outreach

Strategic planning

Development consulting

Implementation planning

…to create a park concept rooted in the character of the site while responding to recreation gaps, accessibility, public safety, trail connectivity, community priorities, and long-term feasibility.

Working alongside WGI Engineering and HVJ Associates, UAC coordinated planning, design, civil, structural, electrical, and geotechnical considerations as the project advanced from early visioning toward implementation.

The result is a plan that transforms the quarry’s most challenging features into its greatest assets, creating a future destination centered on adventure, exploration, conservation, and community.

UAC’s team brought energy, creativity, and empathy to every meeting, while still being incredibly responsive, professional, and grounded in municipal realities. They earned the trust of City Council, staff, and residents alike—and ultimately helped us deliver a 10-year vision that is clear, actionable, and deeply reflective of our community’s character and values.

Terrell Smith

Assistant City Manager

City of Melissa