Arden Park receives 2022 Grand Award from ACEC Minnesota

The Minnesota chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) honored the Minnehaha Arden Park project with a Grand Award in 2022.

In 2017, the Inter-Fluve team began analysis, design and a public outreach campaign for the revitalization and restoration of the creek and park. Construction was completed in 2020 and included dam removal; reintroduction of natural fluvial processes through process-based stream design for 2,100 feet of channel including 230 linear feet of added stream length; aquatic, riparian, and terrestrial habitat restoration including invasive species removal, treatment of 90 acres of previously untreated stormwater runoff, contaminated sediment removal; and creation of an urban recreational resource with immersive nature-based learning, kayaking, tubing, fishing, walking, nature-viewing, and ice-skating. The restoration of Arden Park is widely celebrated by the local community (as well as the park’s new aquatic and vegetative inhabitants!)

This project required a close-knit partnership between Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and City of Edina, as well as diligent and detailed design coordination amongst the multi-faceted project team including Inter-Fluve (Stream Restoration, Dam Removal, Habitat Structure, and Floodplain Restoration Design; Geomorphology and Ecology), Stantec (Trail, Boardwalk, and Stormwater Design), and Hart Howerton (Master Plan, Conceptual/Aesthetic Design and Landscape Architecture Design).