A number of proposed projects soon could turn the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary in St. Paul from a quiet oasis into a busy hub of education, local food and nature, officials say.
A local-foods program and an education and interpretive center are expected to bring in visitors. Improvements in Lowertown, including a new 7,000-seat ballpark, the reopening of Union Depot and the construction of the Central Corridor light-rail line, also could be a boost for the sanctuary.
“We are really excited about all of the change that is happening in this area,” said Dan McGuiness, interim director of the Lower Phalen Creek Project.
The 27-acre site below Dayton’s Bluff has evolved over the decades from a brewery to a rail yard to a dumping ground. It also has been a sacred site to the Dakota Indian people, with one of its caves, “Wakan Tipi,” believed to be where the Dakota gathered.
For years, the site deteriorated to become a home for graffiti and discarded items. But dozens of groups organized to clean up the site and created the Bruce Vento Sanctuary, named for the late congressman who represented St. Paul.
The sanctuary was developed for its “tremendous connection opportunities” to the river, downtown, local trails and Indian Mounds Park above, said Brad Meyer, public services manager of St. Paul Parks and Recreation. It also has a “tremendous history,” he said.
The sanctuary opened in 2005. Nestled between railroad tracks, downtown and the bluffs, it features acres of paths, natural habitat and caves.
A reminder of the sanctuary’s gritty past will play a big role in its future. A vacated warehouse on its edge may someday house an education center and an operation meant to teach visitors all they need to know about food.
Tracy Sides’ proposed “Urban Oasis” would serve as a local food center that would focus on teaching people how to grow, preserve, cook and eat local, natural food. Her plan, which recently won $1 million in support from the “Forever St. Paul Challenge,” would occupy about two floors of the old warehouse.
The proposal hit a bureaucratic hurdle last week when the Metropolitan Council said rules prohibit the use of sanctuary land for business, which means Sides might have to revise her vision.
She likened the sanctuary to the hub of a wagon wheel.
“This hub has many spokes,” Sides said. Her proposal is one of those spokes, she said.
The Lower Phalen Creek Project also would take up a chunk of floor space in the warehouse. Its goal is to create a cultural and natural history center that would educate visitors about the American Indian heritage of the site as well as its evolution over the years. The center also would host school programs.
“I think it’s a great local community story of people restoring nature,” McGuiness said. He hopes to have the center open in 2016.
He said there is an ongoing effort to recruit school groups for hikes and educational field trips. Last year, about 500 children visited the sanctuary.
“We want a sprinkling of activities over the year to get people interested in the sanctuary,” McGuiness said.
It is not clear what it would cost to make all the improvements to the warehouse to make way for the projects, Meyer said, but it likely would be several million dollars.
Aside from programs, McGuiness said his group also is advocating for a bike-trail connection from Lowertown to the sanctuary as well as a bike/pedestrian bridge that would cross over railroad tracks to connect the park with trails along the Mississippi River.
Leah Smith can be reached at 651-228-5530.
Copyright 2013 Pioneer Press.
