Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Willowbrook Parks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Willowbrook Park concepts split commissioners; West park bid scheduled for winter 2025
Summary
SRF presented two concept alternatives for Willowbrook Park West (6 vs 8 pickleball courts, combined vs separate shelter/restroom) and two concepts for Willowbrook Park North (dispersed seating vs central shelter). Commissioners favored a blended approach and prioritized accessibility; SRF outlined a construction timeline with Willowbrook West bid expected winter 2025 and construction in spring 2025.
City staff and SRF consultants presented two alternative concept plans for Willowbrook Park West and Willowbrook Park North and asked for commissioner preferences.
Hannah Dunn explained the Willowbrook master-planned-unit-development agreement requires construction of three parks for the new Willowbrook neighborhood, which she said is expected to bring “more than 1,400 housing units” to Oakdale over the next three years. SRF’s Jonathan walked commissioners through Concept A (combined restroom/shelter, full loop trail, six pickleball courts, synthetic-turf volleyball and athletic lighting) and Concept B (separate restroom and shelter, half-loop trail, and eight pickleball courts buffered by conifers instead of a chain-link fence).
Commissioners generally favored Concept A’s balanced amenities—particularly the inclusion of a volleyball court and the continuous loop trail—but several noted features from Concept B (additional pickleball courts and added buffering) could be blended into a preferred concept. For Park North, commissioners split between Concept A’s dispersed seating and prairie planting approach and Concept B’s single steel shelter, with several preferring a hybrid that preserves passive character while adding occasional centralized seating.
Jonathan said SRF will use stakeholder input and the online survey to produce a preferred concept, and the project team plans to go to bid for Willowbrook Park West in winter 2025 with construction beginning in spring 2025; Willowbrook Park North’s design and bid are scheduled on a later timeline (bid winter 2026, construction spring 2026).
