Boerboom Park Expansion
For about 7 years now, the City of Osseo has been wanting to expand Boerboom Park from a half block in size, to a full block. Now they’re one step closer. Osseo City Administrator Riley Grams says, “There are 4 residential properties on the eastern side of this block, and as time has gone by, as they’ve become available the city has been interested in purchasing them, and we own three of them, we just approved the purchase of the fourth and final one, so we’re looking forward to expanding the park soon.” But that doesn’t mean you’ll be seeing construction right away. The city is working with Hennepin County to get a grant to do some environmental remediation in order to tear down those properties. And there’s another, very practical reason, too. Grams says, “We’re renting out two of the four properties currently, and until we’re really ready to get going those two will probably stay up and continue to be rented out, we’re making money off of them, but the other properties will probably be done either this fall or early next spring.” A couple of years ago a previous City Council did approve some preliminary plans for an expanded Boerboom Park, but the current council will probably revisit those plans to make sure that they’re in line with what the community wants. And of course what the park will look like depends in large part on the funding, as Grams says, “We’re definitely gonna be looking for grant opportunities from everywhere, because this is such a, it’s really the focal point of Osseo, it’s our downtown core, it’s right across from City Hall, right under the iconic water tower. We wanna do it the right way.” Construction should begin sometime in 2023, after the last two houses are torn down. If you have any questions about the Boerboom Park expansion you can contact Osseo City Hall at 763-425-2624.
