After years of delays and uncertainty, work to expand tiny Pedro Park in downtown St. Paul is speeding up thanks to a state grant that frees up funding intended for another project.
The City Council on Wednesday approved $6 million for construction on the park, which city staff say they hope will be completed by spring of 2025.
Since the city-owned public safety annex at 100 E. 10th St. was torn down this spring, neighbors have grown excited seeing the 0.45-acre grassy area nearly double in size. But the city planned to leave the space mostly open until it found the $8 million needed to bring its vision for the park to life.
Funding suddenly became available after the state Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded St. Paul a grant for the North End Community Center, which is currently under construction. Now the city is shifting $5 million in bond funding from that project to Pedro Park, and adding an extra $1 million from its general fund.
The St. Paul Parks Conservancy is leading a private fundraising effort for the roughly $1.5 million still needed to build amenities such as a splash pad, playground and picnic shelter.
"It's going to be a lift for this community to do this, but it's such a beautiful vision," Michael-jon Pease, the conservancy's executive director, told the council during a public hearing last week. "It's going to be such a jewel."
Designs also show plans for a dog park and possible pickleball courts.
The news was welcomed by nearby residents, some of whom have been involved in planning for the park since 2006, when the city identified a need for more downtown green space. The Pedro family, which for decades ran a family-owned luggage business on the site, donated the park's current land to the city in 2009.
