Brooklyn Park Puts $3.5M Into Mississippi Gateway Regional Park Rebuild

The Brooklyn Park City Council approved $3.5 million in expenditures for the rebuild of Mississippi Gateway Regional Park on March 27.

The project is a joint effort between Brooklyn Park and the Three Rivers Park District.

“I do think a park like this is a great selling point for our city because it’s not easy to pull together all of the resources,” said Mayor Hollies Winston.

Brooklyn Park owns the Environmental Nature Area park on the west side of West River Road, across the street from the park previously known as the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.

The park was renamed in 2019 as planning efforts for the rebuild were underway.

Brooklyn Park’s $3.5 million financial commitment is part of the larger plan to combine the Environmental Nature Area Park to the west of West River Road and the Mississippi Gateway Regional Park to the east of West River Road into a single, cohesive amenity.

The budget includes a 5% contingency cost fund.

Improvements planned for the park include an off-leash dog area, archery range, picnic and shelter area, parking and trail infrastructure, maintenance facility and natural resource management.

Construction work is expected to begin in summer 2023, and continue through 2025.

The park is planned to reopen in 2026.

According to City Council documents, the Three Rivers Park District is expected to spend $19.5 million to construct improvements at the former Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park.

The project is also being considered at the state Legislature for $3 million in bonding funds during this year’s legislative session.

Councilmember XP Lee said he supports the plan “wholeheartedly.”

“This is a really great project,” he said.

SOURCE: Hometown Source