FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ANDREW JOHNSON
Soon, visitors to Lake Nokomis will get to enjoy some upgrades to the patio and covered seating area next to Sandcastle Concessions that the Minn-eapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) have planned. Sandcastle is located at 4955 W. Lake Nokomis Pkwy. in Lake Nokomis Park. The improvements are mainly being done to provide a patio and pavilion to the site, as requested by the Community Advisory Committee to provide a similar dining experience to what visitors enjoy at other popular park concession areas, such as Sea Salt and Tin Fish. Restrooms will also get some changes to improve accessibi-lity. Another key piece of the plan is to reroute the walking path to improve traffic flow around the concession for runners and pedestrians not visiting Sandcastle.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the seating area that Locus has designed to complement their remodel of the refectory building. The first season was terrific, and I’m glad that Sandcastle and the public had an opportunity to provide feedback to the design team about what they’d like to see at the site after they’d used it for a season,” said Steffanie Musich, MPRB commission-er, District 5.
As one of seven parks, Lake Nokomis is getting a shade canopy built from a solar array that will plug into the meter at the beach house. MPRB has recently been selected by Xcel Energy to receive funding for solar energy projects. The project also coincides with other efficiency upgrades, which are part of broader sustainability initiatives MPRB is working on. MPRB President John Erwin recently shared his enthusiasm for the project at a press conference: “We are thrilled that these solar projects will lower our carbon emissions and reduce our costs.”
The design reflects the desire of many visitors to have more seating with views of the lake and the beach, and to preserve the shade provided by the surrounding trees as well as the vegetative buffer between developed space and the water.
