60th Anniversary Spotlight: A Pivotal Project for a Community

Drive by San Marcos Town Center today and it is as vibrant and active as 30 years ago, when it first opened. The 10-acre civic center at the heart of the complex, including a four-story city hall, community center and library, was LPA’s first major civic project. And it was one of the first projects to reflect the firm’s growing commitment to integrated design, with landscape architects and engineers playing a key role in creating the public destination. Developed as a public-private partnership with the Koll Company, the project was a community effort, in every way.

The design was built around a story, stretching to the Native Americans that first settled the area. Materials, the orientation of the buildings, and connections to nature reflect the site’s heritage, including the preservation of local oak trees. The sustainability movement was just starting to take hold, but the project used a central plant for hot and cold water, paired with super-efficient HVAC systems to deliver operating efficiencies that are still paying dividends for the city.

The project was delivered for $100 a square foot, competitive even then. Today, office and retail space continue to generate revenue for the city, and the center remains a hub of community life. Twice a month, the city council chambers, the centerpiece of the center, hosts council meetings under a distinctive blue domed ceiling with a crescent moon that generates the feeling of a meeting under the stars.

“We talked a lot about ‘the intimacy of democracy,’” says LPA Principal Jim Wirick, who was part of the original team. “People walk into the chambers and look up and they smile, and that’s a great feeling.”