Construction rush drives up costs. Look for a Spring installation.
The rush to finish construction before winter sets in drove up the costs for sign installation this year. While it is disappointing to wait until Spring/Summer 2022, the Conservancy is a careful steward of your contributions. Rather than pay double what was in the budget to install the signs, we will seek more bids when there isn’t so much pressure on available contractors.
One of the top 20 projects in the Swede Hollow Park Master Plan, the signs feature short histories of the Dakota, Swedish, Italian, Irish, Polish and Mexican communities who called both the hollow and the neighborhood “up on the street” home. The project – which includes new park entrance and wayfinding signs – was led by the Saint Paul Parks Conservancy, Lower Phalen Creek Project and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation with input from Friends of Swede Hollow, Ramsey County Historical Society, historians from St. Thomas and Celtic Junction Arts Center and many others. Funding was provided by Bush Foundation, Hardenbergh Foundation and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation through community vitality (CVZ) funds.