Gateway Park is the name of Gateway District portion of Saint Paul's planned Highland Bridge Parks. Together these four parks will occupy 9 acres of 122 acres of a former Ford Motor Company assembly plant. The remainder of the old plant will contain privately-owned spaces designed for public use.
This park will sit in the northwest corner of the site at the intersection of Ford Parkway & Mississippi River Boulevard South in St. Paul and will serve as the main entrance of the Highland Bridge Parks. It will be adjacent to offices and retail shops to the east and residential housing the south. A great deal of planning is going into this neighborhood's social, economic and ecological impact.
Plans for Gateway Park
Final designs have yet to be completed. However, according to the Ford Site Zoning & Master Plan, this park will combine hardscape and vegetation to transition visitors into the park from the busy intersection. Zoning will require the park to maintain a 75% ratio of native plants and a 20% tree canopy.
The space will serve as a community gathering space and may contain the following amenities.
- Public art
- A water feature/fountain that ties into the Mississippi river
- Space to picnic at tables
- Seating for games
- A playground
- A dog park
- A community garden
- A multi-use lawn
- Bocce ball courts
- Walkways / boardwalk
- Skate trail and/or skate bowl
- Plenty of bicycle parking and connection to regional trails
- Easy access to the A Line.
Plans for Public Art
The city plans to commission a public art for the entrance of this park that would be as iconic as Minneapolis's Spoonbridge and Cherry but represent Saint Paul and specifically this site.
Nearby Parks Open Now:
- Hidden Falls Regional Park, St. Paul - 1 mile south.
- Minnehaha Regional Park, Minneapolis - 1 mile west.
- Highland Park Community Center & Hillcrest Park, St Paul - 1 mile east.