Chaska's Firemen's Park plan moves ahead

Plans for an ambitious redevelopment of Firemen's Park in Chaska — expanding and improving its amenities, linking it to another smaller park and to the city's historic downtown — are moving forward.

The city hopes to begin work in November on the $15 million project, which includes a new building that will house a Crooked Pint Ale House, a 300-seat banquet facility and a curling center with six ice sheets.

The City Council recently reviewed plans at a work session. The project already has been approved by the Parks Board and is expected to be considered by the Planning Commission later this month.

Some details of the project are on the city's website. Council Member Jay Rohe said the reaction from residents has been "overwhelmingly positive."

City Administrator Matt Podhradsky agreed. "I think it's clearly a project the people of Chaska will be proud of," he said.

Tom Redman, director of parks and recreation, told the council that goals for the redevelopment began taking shape almost a year ago. They include enhancing existing park features like the swimming beach, fishing docks and trail connections. Fishing opportunities will be expanded along a promenade and on a new bridge that will span the lake between Firemen's Park and Schimelpfenig Park. Together the two parks comprise almost 30 acres.

Another goal is that the redeveloped park continues to embrace Chaska's heritage as a former center for the brickmaking industry and honor the town's firefighters, who helped develop the park in the 1950s.

Brick resembling cream-colored Chaska brick will be among the materials for the 40,000-square-foot building that will house the Crooked Pint, curling rink and event center. "We're going to try to use it as expressively as we can," said Mark Wentzell of 292 Design Group, the project's architect.

Redman said the city chose Crooked Pint from two restaurant operators that responded to queries sent out to several prospects. The other response was from Gabes in the Park, which has a bar and grill at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, home of the Four Seasons Curling Club. The Park Board interviewed both companies and recommended to the council that it move forward with Crooked Pint, Redman said.

Launched in 2011 by St. Paul-based Green Mill Restaurants, Crooked Pint has a pub-style format featuring dozens of tap beers. The Chaska restaurant will be the third location for the business — other outlets are on Washington Avenue S. in Minneapolis and Apple Valley.

The restaurant will lease its space in Chaska, with indoor seating for about 200 and an outdoor patio that can accommodate 60 to 90 patrons. Green Mill has extensive experience in special-event catering and will oversee those operations for the banquet facility, said Paul Dzubnar, Green Mill/Crooked Pint's CEO.

"We're very excited about this opportunity," he said. "We love Chaska's old-school downtown. It's a community with more than 23,000 people, and we really don't have anything else out in that area."

Just north of the new building, four columns with an abstract design resembling ladders will be erected. They will be inscribed with the names of Chaska firefighters.

Landscaping will follow a "smoke and fire" motif, both in the shape of plants and their fall colors, said Michael Schroeder, landscape architect with Minneapolis-based LHB.

Council members asked Schroeder if any steps are being taken to keep geese — and their droppings — off wide expanses of green space. He said tall grasses will be planted around the lake, hopefully keeping more of the birds in the water.

"Or you could move the archery range," joked Council Member Greg Boe.