A decade ago, the dirtiest mile of the 22-mile-long Minnehaha Creek was little more than a stagnant drainage ditch that ran through the "backyard" of Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park and other commercial properties.
Duane Spiegle is the vice president of real estate for Park Nicollet Health Services, of which Methodist is the flagship with its 28-acre campus. He reached out to the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District about permits for a hospital expansion. It inspired a discussion about restoring the creek to its original meander and depth, cleaning out invasive species and capturing stormwater into what had become a several-acre stink pot.
Today, the backyard of Methodist is a several-acre showcase of clean water, wetland filtration, flourishing native plants, fish, bees and other habitat that Methodist said plays a great role in the health of patients, staff and the public. They enjoy it out a window or along a boardwalk Methodist built that connects to area walkways.
"What we considered a nuisance is now a great asset," Spiegle said last week. "Having a healthy stream and wetland incorporated into our Methodist campus differentiates us. This place of healing now promotes well-being inside and outside."
Methodist, part of $1.6 billion-revenue Park Nicollet Health Services, starting in 2009, has spent less than $2 million on what has become an $8.4 million project among public-and-private partners that border the once-rancid, mile-long stretch of creek through St. Louis Park and Hopkins. The partners also reduced flood risk and heightened awareness about the benefits of working with nature.
Jim Holm, a retired engineering manager at Methodist, chuckled that he had to "fight for the capital" at first for the wetlands project and later to increase native-planting landscapes and so-called "smart irrigation" that dramatically cut water consumption and for ways of reducing salt without compromising vehicular safety, as well as shrinking the size of a once-vast lawn.
Methodist's long boardwalk through its nature preserve has become a much-praised environmental-and-health showcase.
The "green" movement in commercial space, firmly entrenched indoors with building managers who readily invest in energy-efficient HVAC systems, thermal glass and more to save fuel and money, is slowly spreading to the outdoor environment.