March 28th, 2023 (Foley, AL) –– The Highland Group, a leading real estate development and commercial construction firm, is excited to announce that its crews have finished construction on their second addition to the Graham Creek Nature Preserve in Foley, Alabama. This latest 1,300 square foot addition to the extensive natural park and preserve, was created in collaboration with WAS Design, a prominent landscape architecture firm in Southern Alabama with a focus on landscape architecture and residential design. This is the second project that The Highland Group has completed in partnership with WAS Design at the Graham Creek Nature Preserve in recent years.
Graham Creek Nature Preserve provides a habitat for hundreds of rare plant and animal species. The preserve also provides educational, recreational and venue rental opportunities for the community. The new facility features several useful agricultural amenities for the property and Graham Creeks surrounding community. Some of the amenities within the new AG facility include a large enclosed walk-in cooler for the preserve’s hydroponics department, a 600 square foot covered porch, storage space, bathrooms, offices, and an outside kitchen.
The Highland Group was contracted by the City of Foley Engineering Department to construct the parks new agricultural facility in early 2022. Highland’s Assistant Project Manager Myles York had this to say about the project, “Graham Creek has been an absolutely beautiful jobsite to work on,” remarked York. “It’s great to be able to give back to our community and assist the park with its development efforts. It was a pleasure to be able to visit, work on, and experience what this beautiful public preserve had to offer. If you live in the area or are just visiting, I can’t recommend coming to Graham Creek enough,” finished York.
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Graham Creek Nature Preserve contains numerous unpaved, rustic nature trails designed for hikers, off-road cyclists, and wildlife watchers. Preserve guests can also view the headwaters of Graham Creek and the memorial tree grove by utilizing the ADA-compliant trail and wetland boardwalk near the Interpretive Center. The current park features a large nature center with native reptile exhibits, educational displays, park maps, an information desk, 2500 square foot indoor event space, a 2400 square foot outdoor pavilion, a large open deck outdoor classroom stage, canoe launch, large butterfly garden, archery park, disc golf courses, as well as an extensive raised boardwalk connecting visitors to the fishing pier along Wolf Creek Park.
The park frequently hosts a variety of events ranging from weddings, archery tournaments, educational programs, and several “Ranger Camp” summer camp experiences for children of all ages. The park also offers free “Observe and Explore” days for its visitors in its large outdoor classroom and learning space. These free educational “O & E” days are held the third Saturday and the Wednesday preceding each month. The O&E program is designed to encourage visitors of any age to appreciate nature and understand just some of what the Nature Preserve’s beautiful surroundings have to offer. If you want to support Graham Creek’s efforts personally, the park has a page on their website dedicated to volunteer opportunities and organizations here.
The Highland Group is a real estate development and commercial construction firm that specializes in real estate development, preconstruction services, general contracting, construction management, and design-build delivery. Their mission is to develop leaders committed to higher standards who have an impact on their firm and the communities in which they work and live by developing trusting relationships and building quality projects. The Highland Group has offices located in the Gulf Coast Region (501 South McKenzie Street, Suite 2, Foley, Alabama, 36535), the Tennessee Valley Region (415-H Church Street NW, Suite 201, Huntsville, Alabama, 35801), and the Florida Panhandle Region (130 Richard Jackson Blvd., Suite 104A, Panama City Beach, Florida, 32407). They have been proudly serving clients throughout the Southeastern United States since 2005. Learn more at www.HighlandGroup.org