33 neighborhood parks slated for rehabilitation projects

Posted on 12 April, 2017

Work includes repairs, replacements for lighting, roofs, sidewalks.

Next month, a new round of rehabilitation projects will start up at 33 neighborhood parks throughout the city. The focus is on the repair or replacement of aging, obsolete and non-functioning park assets, ranging from exterior lighting and sidewalks to roofs and heating systems at park facilities.

These projects are funded through the 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan (NPP20), a 2016 agreement between the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the City of Minneapolis that provides $11 million in additional annual funding for neighborhood parks.

Work on these rehabilitation projects is scheduled to begin in May and will extend through the end of 2017; some projects may carry over to 2018. Project information will be posted at parks and recreation centers about two weeks before a project begins; in addition, MPRB staff are coordinating project schedules in order to minimize disruptions to activities, programs and events at the parks.

Projects and locations

Lighting

This project includes replacements or repairs at five parks where lights are non-functioning or needed to improve safety, as well as upgrades for energy efficiency at various parks and the establishment of system-wide standards for lighting levels and light fixtures.

North Minneapolis

  • Folwell Park: replace missing path lights, upgrade path lights to energy-efficient LED fixtures, and repair underground wiring

South Minneapolis

  • Elliot Park: repair electrical feed to soccer field light
  • Pearl Park: replace path lighting
  • East Phillips Park: install path lighting where lighting previously existed

Southwest Minneapolis

  • Bryn Mawr Park: repair wiring for athletic field light

Various parks

  • Install energy-efficient LED lights; repair underground wiring in parks throughout the system

Sidewalks and Pavement

The 21 park properties below are among those identified as having a critical need for repairs, based on preliminary inventory reports. This project includes repairs to critically damaged sections of perimeter sidewalks and, if possible, minor repairs to interior sidewalks. Along with the city, MPRB will coordinate replacement of accessible pedestrian ramps along streets as a separate project.

North Minneapolis

  • Bethune Park, Folwell Park, Sumner Field Park and Willard Park

Northeast/southeast Minneapolis

  • Columbia Park, Logan Park, Northeast Athletic Field Park, Waite Park and Windom NE Park

South Minneapolis

  • East Phillips Park, Franklin Steele Park, Hiawatha School Park, Longfellow Park and Powderhorn Park

Southwest Minneapolis

  • Bryant Square Park, Fuller Park, Gateway Park, Loring Park, Lyndale Farmstead Park, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park and Washburn Fair Oaks Park

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

Projects in this category were prioritized for 14 facilities with the oldest heating systems or those with a critical need for repair. In addition to repairs and replacements, work includes updates to a computer-based building management system (BMS) to improve energy efficiency, and the possible addition of air conditioning (AC) at three sites that have year-round Rec Plus childcare and preschool programming.

Northeast/southeast Minneapolis

  • Audubon Recreation Center: replace six forced-air furnaces, upgrade BMS, consider adding AC
  • Chute Square – historic Godfrey House: replace two electric furnaces and associated AC units
  • Columbia Park – Northeast Service Center: replace four unit heaters;
  • Van Cleve Recreation Center: upgrade BMS

North Minneapolis

  • Bohanon Park warming house: replace furnace that has cracked heat exchanger

South Minneapolis

  • Corcoran Recreation Center: replace four forced-air furnaces, consider AC
  • Matthews Recreation Center: replace two heating/AC roof top units
  • Pearl Recreation Center – Tiny Tots preschool room: replace furnace, consider AC
  • Powderhorn Recreation Center: replace heat exchangers on rooftop units

Southwest Minneapolis

  • Fuller Recreation Center: replace three forced air furnaces, upgrade BMS, consider AC;
  • Lynnhurst Park warming house: replace two forced-air furnaces;
  • South Side Operations Center – wash bay: replace industrial air-exchange unit

Roof Repair/Replacement

The six buildings below are among those ranked as having a critical need for roof repair or replacement, based on preliminary inventory reports.

North Minneapolis

  • Northside Service Center: replace roof
  • Willard Park restroom building: replace roof

Northeast/southeast Minneapolis

  • Logan Recreation Center: replace shingle roof, repair flat roof
  • Beltrami Center: replace roof

South Minneapolis

  • Longfellow Recreation Center: replace flat roof, repair shingle roof, repair structural roof beam

Southwest Minneapolis

  • Whittier Recreation Center: replace recreation center and gym roofs

About MPRB’s expanded rehabilitation program

The new slate of lighting, sidewalk, HVAC and roof projects follows February’s project announcement for accessibility improvements at 26 recreation centers. Additional rehabilitation projects are in development and will be announced through the rest of 2017. These will include general rehabilitation of recreation centers and other neighborhood park facilities; site furnishings and other amenities; and rehabilitation of underground infrastructure.

All are part of a rehabilitation program that has expanded as part of NPP20 in order to addresses a backlog of repair and replacement needs in neighborhood parks. NPP20 funding has increased the program’s six-year budget from less than $4 million to $25 million. This funding is dedicated to critical-level needs for the first few years of the plan, until the overall condition of neighborhood park assets improves. In addition, emergency repairs, sudden damage, or other unexpected work may take precedence over rehabilitation projects during this time.

An overview of the expanded NPP20 rehabilitation program includes information on how projects are identified and prioritized throughout the neighborhood park system.

About NPP20

A 2016 agreement between the MPRB and the City of Minneapolis, NPP20 helps address racial and economic equity across 160 parks and provides $11 million annually to maintain, repair and replace facilities.

More information on NPP20

Project Contact

Lisa Beck 
Director, Asset Management
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
Phone: 612-313-7717
Email: LBeck@minneapolisparks.org

Media Inquiries

Dawn Sommers
Director, Communications and Marketing
Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board
Phone: 612-230-6407
Email: DSommers@minneapolisparks.org