MKSK Celebrates the 40+ Year Career of Principal Landscape Architect Mark Kline

Founding Principal of MKSK, Mark Kline, will be transitioning from his active leadership role in 2020. He will continue his connection to MKSK’s people and projects sharing his 43 years of experience as a Principal Emeritus.

“There are not enough words to describe the impact that Mark has had on the profession as Landscape Architect, partner, friend, and mentor,” said MKSK CEO Brian Kinzelman. “His honesty, work ethic, and personal integrity have been a guide for the entire firm since its inception.”

Since partnering with Brian to form Kinzelman Kline (KKG) in 1990, Mark and Brian developed a multi-disciplinary design and planning practice with a diverse client base and regional area of influence. The firm merged with Myers Schmalenberger (MSI) in 2011 to form MKSK. MKSK has since grown to seven studios in five states and 100 professionals. Mark’s leadership has helped MKSK produce an iconic body of public and civic work, which has been recognized for planning and design excellence by regional, national, and international awards programs

Mark’s 40+ years of Landscape Architecture experience has primarily focused on the development of a diverse array of public park and community spaces throughout the Midwest. As a former park Planner and Landscape Architect for the State of Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Mark’s background includes large-scale land use and resource management planning for state parks, nature preserves, and forest land base area. He was instrumental in the planning and design for Ohio’s first Rails to Trails development, the 43-mile Little Miami Scenic State Park.

In recent years, his focus has been the restoration, reclamation, and preservation of a number of Brownfield and natural area park project sites, including the 15 years of project leadership on the Whittier Peninsula and Scioto Audubon Metro Park master planning and design implementation, Scioto Grove Metro Park, Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park Nature Center, and the Grange Insurance Audubon Center in Columbus, Ohio.

The reclaimed Scioto Audubon Metro Park represents the creative, adaptive reuse of a large contaminated area and former active quarry site into a diverse natural habitat and regional destination for urban residents and visitors to downtown Columbus­.

Scioto Audubon Metro Park, an Ohio EPA award-winner for Outstanding Achievement in Brownfield Redevelopment, offers many ways for visitors to enjoy the park, including a hierarchy of trail systems connecting to the regional trail network.

Mark’s dedication to working with the public and stakeholders for the development of memorable parks, sustainable development and accessible recreation amenities is evidenced in his leadership and contributions to many system-wide park plans, including the Columbus Recreation & Parks Master Plan, Columbus, Ohio; Toledo Metroparks Strategic Plan, Toledo, Ohio; Lake Erie Bluffs Collaborative Conservation Plan and Chagrin River Metro Park, Lake County, Ohio; Piqua Bikeways Plan, Piqua, Ohio; and the Franklin Greenways and Open Space Plan, Franklin, Tennessee.

Mark has led the planning and design of some of the most notable park system planning and development projects in Dublin, Ohio, including the City of Dublin Parks and Recreation Master Plan, M.L. Red Trabue Nature Preserve, and Indian Run Park. The planning and design for these projects included community engagement, mapping of existing vegetation, natural resource protection, trail access, and identifying environmental education opportunities. These projects reflect a commitment to land conservation and sustainable design while also making parks and open spaces accessible and multi-functional recreational amenities.

The 90-acre M.L. Red Trabue Park creates connectivity for the Dublin, Ohio area – educationally as a tool for the Dublin School District and physically with its regionally connected bike system.

The Columbus Recreation and Parks Master Plan is a tool for the Columbus Recreation and Parks Commission, to help guide the City of Columbus’ current and future facilities based on anticipated growth areas and needs within the city’s 30 planning areas over the next 10 years.

Mark has always held a special commitment to Dayton, Ohio as his home city. Working with Five Rivers Metro Parks, Mark led multiple phases of Dayton’s signature downtown riverfront development, RiverScape. These projects include RiverScape Phase III Entertainment Pavilion and Bike Hub, Deeds Point Metro Park, North Shore development, and River Run White Water access. His recent work in Dayton includes the Dayton Main Library Renovation and the downtown Levitt Pavilion.

Completed in 2010, RiverScape Phase III replaced the former Dayton Power & Light coal gasification plant with a landmark destination along the riverfront that includes a large public gathering and performance pavilion and LEED Silver Bike Hub facility along a 70-mile regional trail network.

Developed as part of the Riverscape development initiative, Deeds Point MetroPark stands as an iconic gateway to downtown Dayton’s riverfront corridor honoring historic achievements, including the legacy of Dayton natives the Wright Brothers with an interpretive trail throughout the park commemorating the Timeline of Flight and the Friendship Peace Pole Plaza commemorating the signing of the Bosnia Peace Accord at Wright Patterson AFB.

We celebrate Mark’s career-long commitment to transforming spaces into healthier, ecologically responsive and vibrant places to live and recreate, and look forward to his continued mentoring and wisdom at MKSK.

Read more about Mark Kline’s legacy work in the project links below..

Scioto Audubon Metro Park, Columbus, Ohio
RiverScape Phase III, Dayton, Ohio
Grange Insurance Audubon Center, Columbus, Ohio