A plan to permanently protect a sculpture-dotted wilderness may add art to Eagan's city park portfolio.
Local officials and supporters of the Caponi Art Park and Learning Center hope to cobble together more than $1 million in public funding for the city to purchase the remaining private portion of the park on Diffley Road, preserving the land while a nonprofit organization continues to provide arts-focused programs at the unconventional park.
Questions about the fate of the art park have long worried its supporters, who've feared it might fade someday with the passing of its charismatic founder, Anthony Caponi, a retired Macalester College professor who is now 90 and still active as an artist.
In 2005, the city purchased about half of the 60-acre park from the Caponi family with financial support from the county and other grant programs. The nonprofit Caponi Art Park and Learning Center took out a mortgage to buy the remaining land, which holds the bulk of the sculptures and the Caponi family home and studio.
But the nonprofit, which has been expanding programs as attendance climbs, has been unable to make payments on that debt. The arrangement has been flexible so far because the mortgage is owned by the Caponi family.
About a year ago, serious conversations began about public ownership of the entire park.
"We've just all decided this is the best way to go," said Craig Harris, president of the nonprofit's board of directors. "There's no doubt that long-term, this land is preserved."
The city is applying this month for two grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, hoping for about $400,000 in total. If that comes through, Dakota County has pledged up to $400,000 from its Farmland and Natural Areas Preservation program, and the city of Eagan would also pitch in $300,000 to $400,000 -- most likely from a pool of park dedication funds collected from developers over the years -- to purchase the remainder of the park.
