Although completion of the new Farview Park playground is delayed, other improvements at the park and recreation center were completed in the past year.
While this park project is about 75 percent complete and construction continues, the playground’s completion has been delayed until spring. This is due to delivery of some play equipment taking longer than expected; and recent cold temperatures that prevented installation of playground surfacing and concrete, which require specific temperatures to cure properly.
In any case, visitors to Farview Park and the recreation center may have noticed other improvements in the last year including:
• Roof replacement on the gym portion of the recreation center (completed this past fall).
• Siding replacement on the recreation center (completed this past fall).
• Restrooms remodeled to meet ADA requirements and to accommodate all genders (completed last spring).
• Accessibility improvements to the parking lot, pathway to recreation center, recreation center main entry (completed last summer).
• HVAC improvements including new furnaces, air conditioning condenser unit and two air handling units for the gym (installation in February 2021).
MPRB’s 20-Year Neighborhood Park Plan (NPP20) funded most of these improvements, including the playground project.
NPP20 is a long-term initiative that: Dedicates more than $11 million annually in additional funding, through 2036, for capital investments, rehabilitation and increased maintenance in neighborhood parks; and targets these funds for capital investments (and some rehabilitation) in parks and communities where they’re most needed.
In targeting those funds, MPRB uses a data-driven, criteria-based system to rank neighborhood parks annually and help address racial and economic equity; funding is prioritized for the highest ranking parks. In 2019, Farview Park ranked #17 among more than 150 neighborhood parks.
Get more info on the Farview Park project page, or contact Crystal Passi, design project manager, at 612-230-6455 or Cpassi@minneapolisparks.org.
Over the past four years, NPP20 has funded a host of capital investments (playgrounds, sport courts, athletic fields and other major features) and rehabilitation projects (smaller-scale projects to address safety issues, meet critical codes and address critical failures) in neighborhood parks across the city. In North Minneapolis, NPP20-funded projects are underway or just completed at Cleveland Park, Folwell Park, Lovell Square Park, Perkins Hill Park and Victory Park.