Power to the pups: Plant site could be St. Paul park

St. Paul dog owners might soon be able to stop sneaking around for off-leash action.

Come summer, the city may have its first centrally located dog park, which would double the options for a third of the 278,000 residents who own hounds and have only one designated park where Fido can roam.

Xcel Energy is in talks with the city's Parks and Recreation Department and nearby residents about how to use a roughly 30-acre swath of land -- located beneath the landmark High Bridge connecting Irvine Park up to the West Side bluffs -- that until recently was home to Xcel Energy's coal power plant.

Council Member Dave Thune, who represents the area, said "it's a virtual certainty. ... This is a great opportunity for a place where there's never been a park and never would be a park."

Xcel and the city emphasize much remains to be worked out -- from access to governance. John Marshall, manager of community and local government relations for Xcel, says he's "cautiously optimistic" about a summer opening.

"We're all going to keep working to make that happen," he said.

Until now, if St. Paul pooches and their owners wanted to roam freely without fear of ticketing or traffic, they had limited options. Arlington/Arkwright at 1300 N. Arkwright St. on the East Side is the city's only legal off-leash park.

Marshall, who worked as an aide to council Member Pat Harris for years, knows about the pent-up demand for more off-leash acreage in the city. He also knows how vexing the discussions can get.

Marshall worked for years on bringing an off-leash area to Harris' Highland Park and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods, but the turf never turned.

In July 2008, the Parks Commission unanimously approved a process for creating two new off-leash dog parks, in the West Side and West Seventh neighborhoods. Neither has materialized.

Parks spokesman Brad Meyer said the city wants to help the Xcel proposal along. "Adding new green space in an urban developed city certainly has tremendous benefits, " he said.

As Thune said, "It's not for the dogs. It's for people with dogs."

"It would be overwhelmingly popular with the residents," he said, adding that it would help keep dog walkers from congesting the nearby running and biking paths.

Barbara Eijadi, another resident of the Upper Landing, was at a meeting months ago in which Xcel discussed possibilities for the land. "There wasn't anybody there saying, 'Absolutely not,'" Eijadi recalled. "The more variety of things going on down there, the better."

Richard Carlbom, spokesman for Mayor Chris Coleman, said the landowner, Xcel, is driving the process, but the mayor is supportive.

If the money can be raised, additional long-term possibilities for the rest of the land under the bridge include stables for St. Paul police horses, handicapped-accessible playground equipment and an urban walking path-exercise circuit.

Eijadi is eager for the developments. "Whatever happens down there is going to be better than the old power plant," she said.