A grassy, open-air field surrounded by trees, a partially-covered walkway, seating and activity areas could cover half an acre of land at 10th and Robert Streets — all these are among the latest concepts for a downtown St. Paul park to be showcased Wednesday.

The redevelopment of the former public safety annex building at 100 East 10th St. into office space is on hold while a lawsuit brought by neighboring residents works its way through the courts.

Meanwhile, St. Paul Parks and Recreation officials will host an open house featuring new renderings of the adjoining half acre land — the future Pedro Park.

The city still plans to sell the vacant annex building — including a former indoor gun range — along 10th Street to a Minneapolis-based office developer, the Ackerberg Group, and use the proceeds to build a $4 million, quarter-block park next door.

“We have not been at all driving the park design and discussions,” said Stu Ackerberg on Monday, while praising the latest plans as a creative use of space. “We participated in some conceptual meetings. That’s really the city driving that. We’ve been focusing on the building. And there’s still a pending lawsuit. Until that’s resolved, we’re still on hold.”

LATEST RENDERINGS

In October, the St. Paul City Council voted 5-2 to move forward with the two-part office-and-park project. Since then, consultants for the city have met with a design advisory committee to tweak renderings of the future park. A fourth and fifth meeting took place in February.

On Wednesday, the sixth and final meeting will take the form of an open house, and the public is encouraged to stop by and share feedback.

“That will be the end of formal public input through the design advisory process,” said Parks and Rec spokeswoman Clare Cloyd. “We encourage people to come if they want to see the final design that has been discussed with the committee.”

Previous concepts had effectively bisected the 0.45-acre space with two V-shaped walking paths, segregating a children’s play area between them in the approximate center of the future park. The latest design plans create a central open-air field about six steps below grade level, with a rounded walking path and covered seating structures around it, as well as trees, public art and other amenities.

A new north-south orientation “provides improved circulation, allows for future park expansion opportunity, and better utilizes all aspects of the park space,” said Cloyd, in an email, noting the goal was to preserve community priorities such as shaded areas and family-friendly spaces. Technical design and construction documents will roll out in the spring, with an anticipated construction start in the summer or fall.

The city has also released video animation showcasing what the park could look like by day and by night at tinyurl.com/PedroParkPlanning. The open house will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at 180 5th St. E. in Conference Room B. The entrance is through the Skyway system.

THE LAWSUIT

In August, neighbors filed a lawsuit against the city arguing that St. Paul is reneging on promises to the Pedro family to build larger parkland. The family donated the 82,500-square-foot Pedros Luggage building to the city in 2009 on the condition that the land be used for a park within five years. The store was demolished in 2011.

Kati Berg, one of the plaintiff members of the Friends of Pedro Park expansion, said in a Facebook post that the group’s request for a temporary injunction against the Ackerberg project and the city’s motion to dismiss that request were heard by a Ramsey County District Court judge on Dec. 20 and Jan. 4. The judge has 90 days from that time to make a ruling.

Related Articles St. Paul district reports enrollment drop as pandemic moves school online

Police: Teen has life-threatening injuries after being shot in face in St. Paul

CEO of MPR’s parent company to step down following blowback on racial and gender equity issues

Ramsey County commissioner announces $31.8 million federal grant for second Amtrak train

Frogtown Community Center unveils new artificial turf field, playground and outdoor fun By early April, “we’ll have a better idea which way the winds are blowing in the lawsuit,” said Berg in an email Monday.

A mediation before the Dispute Resolution Center is also scheduled this month. Through their website SavePedroPark.com, Berg and other plaintiffs are fundraising to cover the cost of the mediation and legal filings while representing themselves in court.

PEDRO PARK OPEN HOUSE