New St. Paul sales tax to fund Victoria Park sports field

Soccer, baseball, flag football and lacrosse are on the schedule for Victoria Park.

Voters in St. Paul went to the polls last November and approved a 1% municipal sales tax to help support the capital city’s roads and parks.

On Friday, St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter showed off the future fruits of that spending: a new $2.9 million multi-sport artificial turf field planned for 852 Hathaway St., the site of a once-gasoline tank storage facility in the West Seventh Street neighborhood on the banks of the Mississippi River.

The mayor, who has dubbed the new sales tax the “Common Cent” program, called the new funding source the linchpin for cementing the ground on Victoria Park’s long-planned sports field, which will be under construction on the north side of the 40-acre site through next spring. Also on hand for the groundbreaking were St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez and City Councilmember Saura Jost.

“This is the first facility that’s going in,” Rodriguez said. “We still have to secure funding for the rest of the site, but the next thing we hope to have going in is the city’s first universally accessible playground. That’s a $5 million project and we have $2.5 million from the Legislature. We’re looking to match that.”

At full buildout, the 40-acre park will include the lawn, playground, trails and what Rodriguez described as “nature-based play” components. “There’s a good balance of active recreation and nature-based components planned for that park space,” Rodriguez said. “It’s been a natural or scenic area for a while. It’s been accessible, but this is the first dive into developing amenities on the property.”

The artificial turf field has been under construction for more than ten years and there is still a lot to be done.

The city adopted the Victoria Park Long-Range Plan in 2013 after the gas station site was rehabilitated and the land was transferred from the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority to city parkland. The multi-sport field is expected to house soccer, baseball, flag football and lacrosse, and eventually lighting, a restroom facility and other furnishings. The city has left open the possibility of adding spectator seating and more trail connections.

About two-thirds of the funding comes from the Common Cent sales tax. Other funding sources include HRA land transfer funds, the Twins Community Fund, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Outdoor Recreation Program.

The sales tax, which went into effect April 1, is expected to generate nearly $1 billion over the next 20 years, generated by about $738 million for street improvements and about $246 million for improvements to parks and recreation facilities.

More information about Victoria Park can be found online at stpaul.gov/victoriaparkproject and about the Common Cent at stpaul.gov/salestax.