What Could Happen Around Cottageville Park?

Here are some of the ideas and projects under discussion for Cottageville Park. The numbers below refer to the numbers on the map above.

1. Cottageville Park: This 1.5-acre park has seen much improvement over the past year, but it remains one of the key areas that the city would like to improve. The central problem is the surrounding buildings. Those who want to cause trouble can do so without observation from passers-by.
2. Minnehaha Creek: This section of the creek is just one piece of a watershed district that covers 181 square miles, 27 cities, two townships and two counties. Yet the Blake Road section is also one of the most impacted areas of the creek, which is why watershed district officials are so keen to make the most of improvement opportunities here.
3. Watershed district acquisition: Minnehaha Creek Watershed District acquired these two acres as part of a partnership in which the city agreed to pay for the design and construction of the expanded parkland. This summer on the property, the buildings (pictured in brown) will be demolished, the area seeded and the new acreage transformed into green space.
4. Water features: Among the improvements to the newly acquired area are water features that help clean runoff before it enters the creek. The water percolates into the earth, feeding the creek from underground. These won’t be ugly water-retention ponds either. They’ll be designed to blend in and look like part of the creek system.
5. Proposed acquisitions: Watershed district officials now want to investigate acquiring eight properties, totaling 1.66 acres, along Lake Street Northeast—four properties north of the road and four south of it. These would add additional creek frontage and help purify water from nearby apartment buildings.
6. Proposed lift station site: In addition to working with the watershed district, the city wants to partner with the Metropolitan Council on a planned lift station expansion. If the Met Council sites its lift station on these two parcels, the buildings (shown in brown) could be torn down to open sightlines into Cottageville Park. Yet the Met Council isn’t sold on the site. 
7. City property: Although Hopkins isn’t currently doing anything with this isolated .16-acre property, it would be a valuable piece of the puzzle if the watershed district decides to acquire the four properties south of Lake Street.