Countryside Park Makeover Plans Coming Together

Plans to overhaul Edina's Countryside Park are well underway, with the City Council recently approving the purchase of brand new playground equipment for the project.

Council members unanimously approved the purchase of $173,337.97 in playground equipment from Minnesota Wisconsin Playground/Gametime, which was vendor of choice for the neighborhood committee overseeing the process. 

Ann Kattreh, assistant director of Parks & Recreation, said the six "very involved members" of the committee felt the final playground design truly fit the needs of the neighborhood.

"It was very much about the activities being used," Kattreh said. "The neighbors chose this one particularly for the amount of play value that it provided."

The new playground equipment has roughly the same footprint as the existing equipment, though it will be relocated to the western side of the park.

One of the more unique aspects of the play area is the base, which is a recycled rubber "poured in place" safety surface. The flat surface will allow greater accessibility to the park for people of all ability levels, with plans to also install the rubber surface beneath the swings next to the playground.

"It's not a completely universal design," Kattreh said. "But that was very high on the list of the neighborhood committee to make sure that it was an accessible structure."

Aside from the new play area, the $1 million park makeover will include a new 165-foot hockey rink, a dedicated free skate area, a new warming house, a wetland overlook and boardwalk and paved trails throughout the park. The park's existing baseball fields, tennis courts and basketball court will be retained.

The entire project is expected to cost $1,023,000, which will be paid using $695,000 in park developer's fees from the Waters Development and $330,000 budgeted for a portion of the project as part of the 2012 Capital Improvement Plan.

City staff continue working alongside Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. (HKGi), who are developing construction plans, specifications and bidding documents as well as providing construction administration services for the redevelopment of the park. The Park Board is slated to see a "Design Update" version of Countryside's Master Plan at its December meeting, which will then come before the City Council in January.

The project is expected to go out for bidding by the end of 2012, with an anticipated start of construction in the spring of 2013.

Like Edina Patch on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Sign up for our daily newsletter