City of New HopeMinnesota

Park Construction Projects

Example rendering of water play features at new pool area

Each year, some capital improvement dollars are earmarked for maintaining playable court surfaces. There is no set schedule for crack filling or resurfacing tennis and basketball courts throughout the city, but instead staff annually reviews the court surfaces at all parks and prioritizes maintenance based upon need and available budget.

Each year, some capital improvement dollars are set aside for maintaining trails. There is no set schedule for resurfacing trails throughout the city, but instead staff reviews trail surfaces at all parks and prioritizes maintenance based upon need and available budget.

Several additional projects have been identified for 2025, however projects are sometimes delayed due to timing, pricing or other unforeseen circumstances.

Currently identified for 2025:

Golf Course:
- Replace patio grills
Ice Arena:
- Add gutters near front and back entrances
- Replace system relief valves
- Replace the outdoor reader board
Parks:
- Replace hockey rink fencing at Lions Park
- Replace hydrants at Lions and Liberty parks
- Update engineered wood fiber where necessary for playground containers
- Continue to make improvements to existing drinking fountains, picnic tables, and benches
- Continue with emerald ash borer tree removal and tree replacements

3840 Oregon Avenue North Property (adjacent to Lions Park)

In June 2024, the New Hope Economic Development Authority (EDA) approved a purchase agreement for the single-family home at 3840 Oregon Ave North. The property, located at the northwest corner of Lions Park was previously a rental before the vacant property was listed for sale. The 1,940-square-foot, single-family home, built in 1959, sat on a 0.29-acre parcel of land bordered entirely by the park. The acquisition of this property presented a unique opportunity to expand the New Hope parks system. Once acquired, the existing home was demolished, and the land was rezoned to Government, Park, and Open Space (GPO) and incorporated into Lions Park.

This acquisition aligned with the goals outlined in New Hope's 2040 Comprehensive Plan to expand New Hope’s park system, considering the limited potential for acquiring additional parkland within the city.

The City took ownership mid-July, and prior to demolition of the house, the police and fire departments used the property for training exercises.

The park is currently home to two ballfields, a basketball court, an off-leash dog park/hockey rink, horseshoe courts, walking paths, play equipment, and an enclosed park shelter. The park is one of New Hope’s 18 parks, with the City maintaining more than 200 acres of green space.

Later this year, staff will be distributing a survey to neighbors to solicit feedback on how the land can be used in the future. Until plans for the area are determined, the space will remain as an open area with grass.

Over the years, residents have requested trail lighting in the parks. As part of the park upgrades to Civic Center Park several years ago, trail lighting was included and has been very successful.

As part of the 2025 Street Infrastructure project, an alternate was included to install lighting along the northwest section at Northwood Park (near the playground). The timeline for installation is expected late this fall.

The lights will be on a timer that will turn on at dusk and turn off at 10 p.m.

Improvements to the fireplace in clubhouse have been on the wish list for the last couple of years. Original to the 2001 clubhouse, the fireplace was no longer in working condition and needed replacement, along with additional work to bring it up to code.

The project was completed in April, 2025 and is a nice upgrade during the fall and winter months as well as for off-season clubhouse rentals.

The south rink was built in 1996 and the floor, dasher boards, and glass were replaced in 2023. Part of that project also included the permanent painting of the new concrete floor, but it was advised to wait 1-2 years for the concrete to settle before adding the permanent paint and markings. The project painting was instead used to paint the north rink floor in 2024 and the south rink floor was added to the 2025 CIP.

Part of the routine maintenance of an ice rink is to remove the painted ice every 2-3 years, which by then the ice has developed dark spots where the white paint has bled, and the white paint has faded which makes the colored lines harder to see. The costs to remove a sheet of painted ice and reinstall is around $5,000 which includes the supplies and labor. Four weeks is normally scheduled for the entire process to be completed, so it also costs the rink four weeks of potential revenue.

With a permanently painted floor, the removal of a sheet of ice and the installation of a new sheet of ice will take less than two weeks, with little extra labor costs and materials. The loss of potential revenue will be much less as well. Also, staff anticipates the need to remove the ice for maintenance can be extended to 4-5 years because the permanent paint will not fade or bleed.

The project was completed mid-April. The painting included the white base and all the markings (red, blue, goal lines, face off circles and dots, and the goal creases) and is expected to last the lifetime of the floor which is estimated at 25 -30 years.