Following considerable public input and about two years of planning, Chaska’s newest park was unanimously approved for development at the City Council’s Sept. 14 meeting.

Temporarily known as the Southwest Community Park, the 70-plus-acre park site sits east of Highway 212, south of Big Woods Boulevard and north of Chaska Boulevard.

“It will be destination park,” Chaska Parks and Recreation Director Marshall Grange told the council. “It’s going to draw people from across the metro and get people to experience all the great things Chaska has to offer. But day in, day out, it is also just going to be that park right here in Chaska for residents to enjoy on a regular basis.”

According Grange, the $23.8 million project will be completed in the summer of 2027. A portion of the park’s development costs will be covered by a $3 million Legislative-Citizen Commission Natural Resources grant. The remainder of the project’s budget will be financed over 20 years, using several city funding sources, amounting to payments of about $1.5 million per year.

The park has been on the city’s radar for about 25 years and highlighted on previous comprehensive plans. The project is currently on the city’s five-year strategic plan.

Prior to the council’s approval, Grange outlined the many amenities planned for the park. Among them:

• Pollinator-themed playground spaces for all ages of kids with varying abilities. 

Some of the artist renderings reveal playground equipment shaped like bees, dragonflies, worms, plants and more.

“This is right around 70,000-square-feet of playground area, which would put it as one of the larger playground areas in the metro,” Grange indicated.

“We believe there’s going to be a lot of buzz as this park comes online,” he quipped.

• A Miracle League baseball field geared toward athletes of all abilities. 

Funding for the special field is largely being provided by the Chaska Rotary Club and Chaska Lion’s Club. 

“We’re really excited about this field,” Grange said. “It’s going to provide opportunities to build upon our adaptive programming, which you know we take a lot of pride in here in Chaska.”

• A splashpad giving kids a place to cool off during hot summer days. 

“We are planning for this to be a recirculation system … an underground water storage system,” Grange explained. “It ultimately recirculates that water, gets treated and filtered. That is a better water conservation way of having a splash pad compared to the water going down the sanitary sewer.”

• An 18-hole disc golf course, with the opportunity to design some challenging holes through the Big Woods trees.

• A sloped sledding hill to facilitate a fun winter activity. 

“We are working with our with park maintenance division,” Grange said. “They are going to purchase a snowmaking machine to ensure that there is snow at the sledding hill when people arrive.”

• A rectangular sports field that can accommodate soccer, lacrosse, flag football and other activities.
• One 300-foot baseball diamond along with a 210-foot girls’ softball/U12 baseball diamond. Both will be natural grass, unless the local athletic associations raise funds to pay for artificial turf and possible lighting.
• A park building offering restroom facilities, small kitchen and meeting space.
• A network of trails throughout the property.
• A hammock grove among the trees.
• A small bouldering wall where youngsters can test their climbing skills.
• A small outdoor amphitheater that will provide space for programming and performances.
• Several park shelters for people to enjoy picnics under a roof.

Apart from the added amenities, the park project will allow for the preservation of approximately 25 acres of Big Woods tree stands.

“This is an awesome opportunity we have to preserve this remnant of Big Woods and create opportunities for people to experience the nature of the woods with walking trails,” Grange said.

Grange added some of the previously suggested amenities that did not make the final plan include a treetop bridge, basketball courts, pickleball courts, ice skating rink, ice skating trail, bicycle skills park, skateboarding plaza, peace garden, outdoor pool and dog park.

Now that the council has approved the plan, the city will begin work on construction documents and soon seek bids from contractors.

Council members praised the final plan and all of the staff members and community members who helped in the planning process.
Council member McKayla Hatfield said it’s exciting to see many years of planning finally come to reality. “The whole process has been amazing to see how it’s been shaped,” she said. “It really has been shaped by the community.”

Council member Jon Grau said people in his neighborhood have been asking about the status of the park for years.  “There is a lot of interest and a lot of excitement building, and I just think it’s really exciting to see,” he said.

Council member Leah Sheveland agreed. “Something like this is definitely going to attract people from around the area to play at it, utilize it, whatever,” she said.

As the unanimous vote was complete, Mayor Taylor Hubbard took in a deep breath.

“All right, let’s go build a park,” she smiled.