Building Trades Park

Building Trades Park, located in Bloomington, Indiana, has been a neighborhood asset for decades. With a residential redevelopment planned at a former hospital site across from the park, Bloomington Parks desired a master plan for park improvements and updates. Mader Design worked with park staff to engage the surrounding community, stakeholders, and special interest groups to develop a master plan focused on the next fifty years. As a result of this master planning effort, Mader Design and Bloomington Parks leadership were proud to accept the Indiana Parks & Recreation Association's Exemplary Planning Award in 2025.

The master plan proposes improved playground and sports courts, new shelters and skate features, accessible pathways, and updated restrooms to accommodate neighborhood gatherings and park user events. Limestone interpretive features will honor the rich history of the park, formerly the site of a limestone quarry mill serviced by Monon rail lines. The design preserves open green space and existing mature trees, increases accessibility and safety, and celebrates the trade organizations that have been instrumental in the park's evolution.

Phase 1 construction was completed in 2025; this phase provided a fully accessible route from the south edge to the north edge of the site—spanning 13 feet of grade change—for the first time in the park’s history. A skate ledge was constructed on the park’s south edge; this is the first built of several skate features planned for future phases of implementation. Phase 1 also included the removal of a deteriorating shelter and the construction of a new accessible shelter built in the heart of the park.