Maplewood's Gethsemane: A park with a use-by date

When Deena Drewes moved into her house near Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Maplewood 11 years ago, she assumed the park in front of her yard with the baseball fields, ice skating rink and playground belonged to the city. It was a major reason for her move.

But Drewes and other neighbors were shocked to learn late last year that the park land actually belonged to the church. The city had been "renting" it for $1 a year since 1982 -- and that lease was ending.

The church is preparing to build 111 units of senior housing on the site. Neighbors such as Drewes worry not only about the loss of their community gathering place, but also decreased property values, increased traffic and new special assessments to improve the roads around the place.

"This is the place where my son learned to ride a bike, play baseball and gain independence," said Drewes, sitting on her front porch that faces the 10-acre park. "Plus, I've been building equity on my home for 11 years and don't want to see it flushed down the toilet."

But the Rev. Richard White, pastor at Gethsemane, insists the neighbors' fears are unfounded. The housing project is a win-win situation, he said, offering quality senior housing, providing the city with tax revenue and giving the city a chance to buy some park land for the neighbors.

"If you're going to have neighbors, what better neighbors than retired moms and dads?" White said.

Meanwhile, Maplewood has begun reviewing the proposal for the housing, a collaboration between Gethsemane and Presbyterian Homes, which would develop the project.

"It's a tough one for the city," said Chuck Ahl, acting city manager. "We see the need for a park, but we also respect the rights of the landowner. It's a very unique situation there."

The park lies just east of McKnight Road, near the corner of Stillwater Road and N. Lakewood Drive. It's 10 acres of land, with three baseball fields, a skating rink and warming house in the winter, a soccer area, playground equipment and wide-open spaces for flying kites, tossing Frisbees and exercising dogs.

Maplewood developed the area as a park after Gethsemane Church offered them a deal it couldn't refuse -- a $1 a year lease. The church had planned to build a senior high school on the site at some point, White said. It already has an elementary school at the location.

But the church instead decided that senior housing was its calling, White said. It formed a collaborative with Presbyterian Homes, a developer of senior housing across the Twin Cities, to develop the housing.

It will include 61 units of independent living, 32 of assisted living, and 18 units in a "memory care" section, said project manager Bob Van Slyke, of Presbyterian Homes. The project would consume six acres of the 10-acre park, he said. The remaining four acres would be available for the city to purchase.

But that's too many units in too little space, said Dan Stoerzinger, who lives across the street from the park with his wife and children. More importantly, it removes the only major park in the community to which it is safe for children to walk.

"The footprint of this development is way too large," Stoerzinger said. "These are all one-and-a-half-story homes around here. The building is three stories high."

Drewes is particularly worried that the project will require the city to widen and repair the road in front of her house to accommodate the increased traffic of dozens of seniors and workers. She said she simply doesn't have thousands of dollars to pay the city assessments that typically finance such work. Ahl said that those streets are currently slated for upgrades in 2012.

Van Slyke said a traffic study performed for Presbyterian Homes showed little to no additional traffic burden.

"We're good neighbors," Van Slyke said. "We've never had neighbors call us after we've built something and complained."

The tension is unlikely to subside for some time. The city will be reviewing the proposal in the months ahead, Ahl said.

"This is an issue still being discussed by city commissions," he said. "The City Council still hasn't had a chance to review it. It's got a long way to go."

Jean Hopfensperger • 651-298-1553