A multiuse, synthetic turf field could be installed soon near the corner of Victoria Way and Adrian Street in Victoria Park. The Saint Paul Department of Parks and Recreation is preparing to relaunch an advisory committee that paused almost four years ago, with the goal of doing field design work through this spring, followed by construction this summer and fall.
Members of the West Seventh/Fort Road Federation board, neighborhood residents, and Parks and Recreation staff began reviewing the park planning process in February. The multiuse field is being welcomed by sports teams and residents who want space for open play. However, others are questioning whether the $900,000 earmarked for the field should be spent on other improvements to the West End park.
City landscape architects Mary Norton and Brett Hussong outlined the Victoria Park history and current decision-making process. The park could be used for adult soccer, high school and adult lacrosse, and youth baseball. It would have partial fencing, including backstops for baseball.
During the pandemic, Parks and Recreation has seen an increased demand for open field time, rather than for structured games and practices. The city also is moving toward synthetic turf fields for improved quality and lower-cost maintenance. Such fields provide more flexibility in use, said city recreation services manager Andy Rodriguez.
The proposed field would be located near a planned water feature. It could have a 40-space parking lot, with the option to use additional parking by Nova Classical Academy.
While many neighbors want to see additional field space, there is longstanding opposition to a facility that is heavily scheduled. “We did specify the need for community (field) time,” said Tonya Nicholie, a West End resident and co-chair of the design advisory committee.
While many neighbors want to see additional field space, there is longstanding opposition to a facility that is heavily scheduled. “We did specify the need for community (field) time,” said Tonya Nicholie, a West End resident and co-chair of the design advisory committee.
Fellow committee member and neighbor Paula Faughender recalled that the Victoria Park Neighborhood Association in 2013 opposed an artificial turf field and bright field lighting. Hussong said lighting will be part of the upcoming field discussion, along with parking, fencing and other details. Rodriguez said the lights would typically be turned off at 8 p.m., but might stay on later on occasion.
Others people wondered if the $900,000 earmarked for the field could be spent on other park improvements, including play areas, a community oven, a canoe and kayak launch, a fishing pier, picnic shelters and a boardwalk across a wetland.
Parks staff said some of those additions could be funded by grants. Others would have to go through the city’s Capital Improvement Budget process.
Victoria Park has a complex history. It was a farm more than a century ago, then became a quarry in the 1920s. For many years it housed fuel tank farms, the final two operated by Koch Refinery and Mobil Oil. Federation leaders had long eyed the 65-acre property for as many as 850 housing units at one time.
Both tank farms ceased operations in 1995, launching a long period of cleanup and debate over future use of the land. Koch sold its property for redevelopment, bringing the Sholom senior living campus, Mississippi Market, multifamily buildings and Nova Classical Academy to the site.
Mobil announced that it would only sell its part of the property if it was used for parkland. A legal fight with the city lasted from 2004 to late 2009. The 36-acre property eventually was sold to the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) for $1 on the condition the land be used as a park.
In return, Mobil gave the HRA $5 million to clean up and redevelop the property. Tons of contaminated soil were removed and fill was trucked in from the construction of the light-rail Green Line.
A park planning process took place in 2013-2014, and then won city approvals. Monitoring wells were capped in 2015 and a remedial pumphouse was removed. Berms were created and two open spaces were seeded. Native grasses, trees and shrubs were planted, and a Mississippi River overlook was built. Stewart Avenue was extended into the site and trails were developed through the site.
In 2019-2020, the park property was transferred from the HRA to Parks and Recreation. A play area with access for people with disabilities was designed in 2016-2017. A stormwater study for the entire site also was conducted.
— Jane McClure
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