Renovation of a playground / park / athletic field in Hastings, Minnesota. Design plans call for the renovation of a playground / park / athletic field.

As of March 1, 2024, per owner, a design team has been identified. There is no available construction timeline. Question Deadline 09/14/2023 at 4:00 PM CT Project Background: Thompson County Park is located on the northern border of Dakota County in West St Paul. The park is bounded on the east by Highway 52 and on the North by Butler Ave East. Across Thompson Lake, at the park's northwest edge, lies St. Croix Lutheran Academy. The 58-acre park is connected to South St. Paul's Kaposia Park and Kaposia Landing by the River to River Greenway. Thompson offers visitors a variety of natural habitats to explore. Scenic trails, including one around Thompson Lake, combine with other park amenities to make Thompson County Park a popular destination for residents and visitors and currently serves the outdoor recreational needs of more than 50,000 residence who live in the northern portion of Dakota County. Annual park visitation was estimated at 300,000 in 2022. In recent years, a significant number of improvements have occurred at Thompson County Park. The park Master Plan was approved by the Dakota County Board in early2020. Since that approval, improvements related to visitor services, natural resources, and infrastructure have been completed. As part of the initial phase of master plan improvements, an extensive playground was installed near the Thompson Park Center (the Center), a linear lakefront plaza was developed to connect the Center to a large picnic shelter in the north end of the park, accessible group picnicking was added, additional interpretation was installed, and a pier was added at the southwest corner of the lake to support access by the adjacent school. Additionally, restoration and maintenance of the lake shore is ongoing. The parking lot was resurfaced, additional ADA stalls were installed, and a new trail was added to provide easy access between the Center and the River to River Greenway. Dakota Lodge located within the Thompson Park Center is a popular rental facility and hosts daily activities for ISD 197 Community Education Older Adult Program while the other half of the building is available for group rentals including meetings, retreats, social gatherings, and weddings. There is a desire to update and add on to this facility to meet growing needs. The Thompson Park Center is a partnership agreement between Dakota County, city of West St. Paul, and ISD 197 Community Education. An initial study was completed in 2021 to explore options for building expansion and renovation (Attachment Q). Both options presented include additional staff workspaces, public access visitor center-type space, and expanded classroom space. Staff will work with a design team from programming the various elements to prioritize and price the project. Project scope will then be refined through schematic design. Once funding is secured, a separate, competitive RFP process will select the design team that will be responsible for seeing the project through the remainder of design and construction administration.