Jury Recognizes The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay for "Non-Typical" Design, Environmental Sensitivity

Vienna, VA (October 3, 2007) - Lewis Scully Gionet, a Vienna, Va.-based planning and landscape architecture firm, has earned a Merit Award from the Pennsylvania/Delaware chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects for the firm's design of The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay, a luxury waterfront resort/residential community in Millsboro, Del.

The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay was developed on a 788-acre site consisting of fields surrounded by woods and wetlands.  Design of the community optimized use of the former agricultural land and minimized impact on the site's 225 acres of wetlands-ultimately disturbing only 1.6 acres.

In addition to addressing environmental issues, Lewis Scully Gionet was challenged to create a signature community with a distinctive, inviting sense of place.  An artful blending of the land's natural features along with the new built elements was paramount to the success of the development, and included extensive water resources planning to incorporate creative approaches to stormwater management.  Rather than traditional retention ponds, features include bio-swales, bio-filters, bio-retention areas, and wetlands.  The design also allowed for the preservation of large stands of trees, improvements to existing beaches, and the development of a scenic boardwalk and trail system that winds through woodland and waterfront acreage.

Amenities at The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay include the Lakeside Village community center and shopping area and the Peninsula Golf Club.  Lakeside Village features an aquatic playground with a water slide tower, a vanishing edge adult pool, a wave lagoon, and several four season spas.  Public spaces also include shops, restaurants, and a fitness center.

Lewis Scully Gionet was responsible for landscape architecture and construction-related services for the entire development, including design of the aquatic playground.  The firm coordinated closely with civil and environmental engineers throughout the project.  Additional highlights include the "gateway" entry, featuring formal plantings, custom fencing, a fountain, and retaining walls of dressed sandstone; and the Esplanade, a pair of divided one-lane roads that wind through the community and are designed as old estate-style drives that optimize views of the landscape.  A nature center, accessed via the boardwalk and pier system, features educational programs and outdoor interpretive areas, as well as a deck, fire pit, and kayak pond.

In presenting the award, the jury noted that The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay was "a very non-typical, large-scale development that counters the notion of environmental damage impacts with runoff, pesticides, and reduction of wetlands.  This project has a very nice sense of scale for something this large...it delivers what was promised-not an easy thing to do."