Community Corner

What Should Go Here?: Cottageville Park

A feature that asks residents how Hopkins should fill its vacant spaces.

Hopkins has several exciting development projects on the horizon, but vacant properties still dot the community’s real estate landscape.

While there’s little doubt residents would like to fill those properties, they also offer the opportunity to remake Hopkins’ landscape.

In this feature, Patch asks you to imagine the future of these spaces. This week, we’re stepping away from the commercial properties this column has looked at in the past and instead considering the future of a growing park.

Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

What park amenities would you like to see? A canoe landing? A community garden? How would you like the park to connect to the rest of the community? Tell us in the comments below.

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Find out what's happening in Hopkinswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

439 Blake Road N.

What was it?

Current owner: City of Hopkins

Area: The existing Cottageville Park is a modest-sized green space of just 1.3 acres, or 56,800 square feet. However, the park has an exciting future because of additions that effectively enlarge the park to about triple its current size. Purchases by add 101,400 square feet, and a land swap that began with a Metropolitan Council purchase adds an additional 9,700 square feet.

Market value: Because the parcels are owned by public entities, Hennepin County doesn’t list the market value of existing Cottageville Park or the properties that will soon become part of it. However, past sale prices for the new properties totaled just over $3.3 million, according to Hennepin County tax records.

History: Cottageville Park has historically been known as a troublesome area—to the extent it was known at all. Surrounding buildings made it hard for passers-by to see into the park from the road, allowing crime to take place unnoticed. Police started working to improve the area by boosting patrols around Cottageville. Then Minnehaha Creek Watershed District surrounding the park—opening it up and adding green space. The Met Council also purchased a Blake Road duplex, which it traded for space in to build . Throughout this period, the city and neighborhood groups have been engaging residents through activities such as and . Hopkins is still discussing how the newly enlarged park will look and plans to seek input from residents, the Park Board and the City Council.

 

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