City Council OKs Concept Design of Heritage Village Park ... With Conditions

The Inver Grove Heights city council approved preliminary designs for the future Heritage Village Park on Monday night.  

A project designed by Minneapolis-based Partners & Sirny Architects, the site includes a trailhead building as well as space for parking, picnics and connections to the Mississippi River Trail network.  

The park, which is located south of 66th Street East between Donnelly Ave. and Doffing Ave., are being designed to mimick the railroad tradition of the area.  

But the design of the buildings gave the council cause for pause Monday night.

"Sooner or later vandalism will happen to facilities down there," explained parks & recreation director Eric Carlson in a presentation to the council. "We’ve experienced it before." 

Although the architects chose a wooden facade to keep costs down and allow for easier cleanup in the event of vandalism, the council appeared to prefer the early stone-based design.

"It seems to me a stone building would stand up better in the long run," councilman Dennis Madden told Carlson. 

Councilwoman Rosemary Piekarski-Krech argued an aesthetic appeal: 

"I'm concerned about the wooden (design). That’s not what I would like to see down there," Piekarski-Krech told Carlson.

She added: "Architecturally and aesthetically we cannot have vandals control our lives. I would much rather have something aesthetically pleasing. If we’re going to let vandals control our lives, then we might as well have ugly buildings everywhere. You might as well put up a pole barn."

Councilman Bill Klein also showed concern about what he called the "inadequate" size of the 30-car parking lot.

"I’m assuming the (Heritage Village Park) is going to be an attraction. I’m assuming tour buses might even come down to see this," Klein said. "A parking lot with only one way in and one way out, how are coach buses going to be able to negotiate that parking lot?"

After reassurance that the architects would redesign the structure with "stone accents" and that the council would still be able to approve final designs, they voted to approve the architectural concept.

The next steps in the process include Dakota County hiring the architects and the Inver Grove Heights city council approving final designs.

Carlson concluded by reminding the council that, at present, the city has no investment in the building portion of the project.