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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEditionEdinaDec2018Skate Into Winter In Edina Take Advantage of Activities Hosted by Parks & Recreation Just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean you can’t warm up by spending time at an outdoor rink or at Centennial Lakes Park. “Our outdoor rinks are an awesome place for kids to learn to skate and for families to enjoy an outdoor activity together,” said Recreation Supervisor Tiffany Bushland. “Ice skating is a popular winter activity in Edina.” The city boasts 11 outdoor ice rinks, maintained daily in local parks. (That number will rise to 12 next winter when construction at Arden Park is complete.) Pending weather conditions, the rinks are slated to open Dec. 17. They are located at Cornelia School, Countryside, Creek Valley School, Highlands, Lewis, Normandale, Pamela, Strachauer, Todd, Walnut Ridge and Weber parks. An Ice Rink Attendant will be on site at each rink from 4 to 9:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1 to 8 p.m. Sundays. An outdoor adult four-person hockey league enjoys the rinks Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings throughout the winter. Registration for the league ends Friday, Dec. 7. Centennial Lakes Park features a 10-acre lake that is also groomed daily. Spread out over three main ponds connected by narrow, meandering canals, the rink gives skaters a unique skating experience. Skate and ice sleds are available for rental. Santa will swing by Braemar Arena for its annual “Skate with Santa” 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 15, at the Backyard Rink, 7501 Ikola Way. Participants can bring their own cameras for photos with Santa and enjoy festive music, hot chocolate, cookies and open skating. When skaters are finished, they can warm up by the outdoor fire pit. Cost is $12 per person; skate rental is an additional $3. Cornelia School Park, 7000 Cornelia Drive, will be the site of “Cocoa & Cookies at Cornelia,” an afternoon of ice skating, cookies and cocoa, while supplies last, from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28. No registration required. “We wanted to add some fun winter activities for families to take advantage of while they are on break from school or work,” said Recreation Supervisor Amanda Clarke. “We’re very excited about glow skating, too!” Families can enjoy a free fun night out at one of two “Outdoor Rink Family Glow Nights,” which will be held 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, at Pamela Park, 4301 W. 58th St., and Friday, Feb. 8, at Countryside Park, 6240 Tracy Ave. Hot chocolate and glow gear will be available while supplies last. No registration required. To register for Skate with Santa, visit EdinaParks.com before Dec. 8. For more information on the events and ice skating, check out the 2018-2019 Fall/Winter Activities Directory. Edition: Edina DECEMBER 2018 Volume 5, Issue 12 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 55424 | 952-927-8861 | mail@EdinaMN.govCity of Edina EdinaMN.gov File Photo50th & France North Ramp Expansion Complete City Adds More Parking Spaces, Makes Other Improvements Expansion of the North Parking Ramp at 50th & France is complete. The new levels of public parking opened Oct. 23. The construction project nearly doubled the size of the original parking structure. With the expansion complete, the North Ramp now has 546 parking stalls available to serve customers, clients and employees. “We are thrilled to deliver additional free parking,” said Pat Tucker, Project Communication Coordinator. “Thank you to all of the customers and businesses that were patient while we worked to construct the additional public parking to serve Edina’s downtown at 50th & France.” Among other things, the completed project includes additional parking stalls for people with physical disabilities. Those spots are located on the first level and near the elevators. A second elevator has been added to provide easier access to adjacent businesses. The North Ramp also features approximately 10,000 square feet of new commercial space on the street level. These spaces are under contract to sell to the developer of the adjacent Nolan Mains apartments. Leasing of these spaces is actively underway. Construction on the North Parking Ramp began Jan. 2. Based on input from the local business community, this expansion was scheduled to overlap with the construction of the adjacent Nolan Mains apartment building. This scheduling allowed the nearly three-year construction effort to be condensed to two years. An expedited construction approach was prepared by the architects at Mohagen-Hansen and implemented by general contractor Adolfson & Peterson Construction so that the parking expansion would be complete prior to the 2018 holiday season. The permanent sidewalks linking the North Ramp to adjacent businesses are now restored. The “orange” route leads to the west, providing access to businesses located near Halifax Avenue. The “purple” route leads to businesses to the east, near France Avenue. Construction is still underway on the new Center Ramp located on the lower level of the new Nolan Mains apartments. When complete in fall 2019, this project will include 100 new apartments, an additional 100 stalls of free public parking and new commercial space. This new construction will be arranged around a quaint network of public walkways and public plazas. The Nolan Mains project replaces the 40-year old Center Ramp, which had formerly been located on the property. For more information, visit EdinaMN.gov/50thandFrance or contact Tucker at 952-826-1605. Party at Edinborough Park! These kids rang in the New Year early at Edinborough Park’s Pre-New Year’s Eve Party last year. Bring the whole family along to the popular annual event this year! The party will be 5-8 p.m. Dec. 28, at Edinborough Park, 7700 York Ave. S. Enjoy music and dancing with a DJ in the Great Hall and full access to Adventure Peak. Noisemakers and party hats will be available for the kids, along with a photo booth. A New Year’s Eve Countdown will be held at 7 p.m. to “ring in” the New Year. Adults are free with paid child admission. Register at EdinboroughPark.com. Photo by Suzanne Wortham-Ressemann The neighborhood rinks are popular for pick-up hockey games and leisure skating. BRAEMAR GOLF DOME 952-903-5775 BraemarGolf.com 7420 Braemar Blvd., Edina Keep your game strong all winter long! Measure your ball speed an d f l i g h t w i t h o u r S m a r t T e e D i v i d e r s ! Open Daily 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Artist Heather Novak-Peterson's 30-foot-tall aluminum art piece, "Garden Quilt," hangs on the east wall of the North Ramp.Photo by Kaylin Eidsness Edition: Edi na DECEMBER 2018 4801 W. 50th St. Edina, MN 55424 | 952-927-8861 | mail@EdinaMN.gov City of Edina EdinaMN.gov Upcoming Events Recurring Events: Children’s Entertainment at Edinborough Park Noon Thursdays Family Night at Braemar Field 6:30-7:30 p.m. Saturdays Up North Holiday Gift Gallery at Edina Art Center Business Hours Nov. 15-Dec. 18 Friday, Dec. 7, 6:15 a.m. Fitness on the Field – F45 Training, Braemar Field Friday, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m. Friday Family Movie Night, “Hotel Transylvania 3,” Edinborough Park Saturday, Dec. 8, 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. Breakfast with Santa, Braemar Golf Course Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. The Author’s Studio: Chuck Haavick – Christmas in the Northern Lands, Edina Art Center Sunday, Dec. 9, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Holiday Pops Exhibition, Braemar Arena Sunday, Dec. 9, 7 p.m. The Percolators, Edinborough Park Monday, Dec. 10, 6 p.m. Special City Council Meeting – Public Hearings for 2019 Neighborhood Roadway Reconstruction, Edina City Hall Tuesday, Dec. 11, 7 p.m. Eden Prairie Community Band, Edinborough Park Thursday, Dec. 13, 7:30 a.m. Housing & Redevelopment Authority Meeting, Edina City Hall Saturday, Dec. 15, 9-10 a.m. Walk With the Mayor, Southdale Center Saturday, Dec. 15, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Skate with Santa, Braemar Arena’s Backyard Rink Sunday, Dec. 16, 7 p.m. The Jazz Standards, Edinborough Park Tuesday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. City Council Meeting, Edina City Hall Tuesday, Dec. 18, 7 p.m. St. Louis Park Community Band, Edinborough ParkFile PhotoCloverRide has been helping seniors travel to popular Southdale-area stops since June. CloverRide Shuttle Updates Route Stops Added at Galleria, Parklawn Estates CloverRide, a Southdale-area circulator shuttle, is offered weekly on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Riders pay a daily fare of $3 that allows them unlimited rides throughout that day. The City recently updated the schedule in response to the needs of the riders. Two stops have been removed to make time for stops at Galleria and Parklawn Estates. Stops now include: • South Haven, 3400 Parklawn Ave. • Parklawn Estates, 4100 Parklawn Ave. • Whole Foods, 7401 France Ave. S. • Lunds & Byerlys, 7171 France Ave. S. • Aurora on France, 6500 France Ave. S. • Southdale Center, 10 Southdale Center • Cub Foods, 6775 York Ave. S. • Galleria, 69th Street & France Avenue • Super Target, 7000 York Ave. S. • Yorktown Continental, 7151 York Ave. S. Brookdale and the Southdale YMCA were removed from the route. In addition, the stop near Centennial Lakes Park was moved slightly and now will pick up and drop off from Whole Foods. “As it turned out, the YMCA only had one or two people ever picked up there, and the same goes for the Brookdale stop since they had their own bus,” said Transportation Planner Mark Nolan, who pointed out that the program was evaluated after three months of use. “We noticed Parklawn had a lot of on-demand stops. It was a location we wanted on the original route, but because of timing, we couldn’t. Now, because of these other changes, we can. We added Galleria because we heard from some people that they’d like to see it added to the list.” The service is supported by DARTS, which has helped support several other community transit services in the area. DARTS focuses on senior services and, in addition to transportation services, offers services like light housework, outdoor chores, home repair and caregiving resources. “South Haven has been a very popular stop and Yorktown Continental is our second most- used residential stop. We’ve also seen several people walking from Point of France to the Aurora on France stop because there is limited access from their building,” said DARTS Program Manager Jan Hix. “Feedback has been really good; people are very happy about the service. Some have had mobility issues and could never cross France in the past, so they’re thrilled to have this option.” Hix noted that the shuttle sees about seven or eight riders every Friday, a number she’d like to see grow. She encourages riders who are within two blocks of the route to request a special stop. To request a special on-demand pick up, call 651-234-2272. Additionally, riders with mobility devices such as scooters, wheelchairs or walkers are welcome; the CloverRide driver will assist with the loading as needed. “People who ride it, love it. It’ll be really useful this winter, especially around Christmas because you can do your shopping a little bit easier. We’ll continue to review the service in the coming months and keep our minds open in terms of this service and what we offer,” said Nolan. For more information about CloverRide and the full schedule, visit EdinaMN.gov/CloverRide. Voters Put Anderson, Staunton on City Council Newcomer to Join Four Current Members A new face will join the Edina City Council in 2019. Ron Anderson, who ran on a platform of transparency and slowing development, received 25 percent of the vote in the Nov. 6 election. Incumbent Kevin Staunton was re-elected with 24 percent. They were the top vote-getters among the six candidates vying for the two open seats on City Council. Anderson, who will replace Bob Stewart on City Council, thanked voters for their support. “It’s hard to describe this feeling because you simultaneously feel very excited and proud and very humbled,” he said shortly after the election. As the newcomer, Anderson said he plans to spend the time before his January swearing-in closely examining issues the City is facing, including what to do with the former Public Works site and redevelopment of the Pentagon Park area. Staunton, who was first elected to City Council in 2014, also thanked those who voted for him. “I was pleased to be re-elected and grateful to residents,” Staunton said. “I feel like it validates the work I’ve been doing the last four years.” Among his goals for 2019, he’s looking forward to wrapping up the Comprehensive Plan Update, which will guide development in coming years and give residents predictability about what to expect. Their new terms run through 2022. Edina’s other three council members are Mary Brindle, Mike Fischer and Mayor James Hovland. Their seats will be on the November 2020 ballot. The Mayor and Council set policies and ordinances for the City. City Council meetings are typically held at 7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of each month in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. These meetings are open to the public and available on video. For more information, visit EdinaMN.gov. Anderson can be reached at AndersonforEdinaCouncil@gmail.com or 612-386-3208. Staunton can be reached at kstaunton@EdinaMN.gov or 952-836-1020. Ronald C. AndersonSubmitted Photo127 Affordable units approved, the largest number of which were at 66 West Approved units in the Edina school district 1,191 Approved units in the Richfield school district 1,121 Approved units in the Hopkins school district 246 BY THE NUMBERS New Multi-Family Housing Edina has seen a boom in multi-family housing development since 2010. Because many of the projects have been in the greater Southdale area, there has been a near-equal impact on the Edina and Richfield school districts. New units approved and under construction, including those at Aria, Nolan Mains, Avidor, Hawthorn and Edina Flats Edina Flats Nolan Mains 485 658 New units approved, but yet to be constructed New units built since 2010 1,415 The Loden