The final push is on to complete the design documents for park improvements. The design plans are scheduled to finalized by early October 2021 and ready for public bid. Upon a successful bid, construction of these park improvements would begin Spring 2022 and hopefully wrapped up by the end of 2022.
Recently the proposed design was approved by the Heritage Preservation Commission (HPC). As part of that approval additional archeological investigative work within segments of the park needed to be performed. In June 2021, excavations were dug in areas where proposed park amenities were planned, which subsequently corresponded to locations of past historical elements that had been located on this site. Due to artifacts uncovered with these excavations the design of a few proposed park elements needed to be revised to avoid any potential impacts.
In addition to the HPC approval, the park design was recently approved by the City of Minneapolis through their Preliminary Development Review process. This process involves a review by various City of Minneapolis Departments, ensuring the park design meets with City of Minneapolis design and infrastructure guidelines.