Emerald Park

St. Anthony MN

U+B was hired to work in collaboration with a local landscape architect to re-design a community park in the small northeast Village of St. Anthony. The existing park was outdated with inadequate parking, worn trails and an over-used building. The City of St. Anthony was looking to bring this tired park, tucked in a quiet residential neighborhood, back to life. U+B’s charge was to delicately weave architectural elements into a newly created landscape; the result was an indispensable gathering space for a small neighborhood.

The work was focused around the replacement of a single windowless multi-use structure and outdated park equipment. The new architectural components included a community meeting space that also functions as a winter warming house, an open-air picnic shelter and a shade structure adjacent to the new playground and splash deck. While adding park amenities that the area previously lacked, the U+B team found ways to preserve the existing white pines on the site. Thoughtful and refined structures were carefully positioned in the park to coordinate with the new landscape elements and to engage visitors.

The alterations have dramatically revitalized the neighborhood and the park has become a delightful new heart for the local community. “The collaborative effort of [the designers] to design Emerald Park was seamless and professional…the team held the project together and delivered it on-time and on budget.” remarked Jay Hartman, Director of Public Works for the City of St. Anthony.