In 2011 Maplewood developed and approved a master plan for Gladstone Savanna Neighborhood Preserve and Gloster Park. This site is located at the southwest corner of Frost Avenue and English Street.  The plan integrates the site’s railroad history, soil remediation, stormwater management, natural resources, and passive and active (playground) recreation.

Work at the site begain in 2012 with brush removal, grading, remediation of contaminated soil, and installation of stormwater basins and trails.

 

City contacts:
Ginny Gaynor, 651-249-2416,
Steve Love, Engineer, 651-249- 2404,  

 

In 2013, the focus at Gladstone Savanna will be restoration and native seeding.  Planned activities include: seed native prairie species; remove brush along Frost, along English, and at southwest entry; plant trees; and plant shrubs, grasses, and flowers in focal areas.  If funds permit, we will also begin removing buckthorn and honeysuckle in the woods along the site's south border.

The improvments at Gladstone Savanna will be implemented in phases.  Improvements in future phases will include: landscaping, benches, playground with lawn area, boardwalk, arbors, additional restoration, additional tree planting, historical features, and site interpretation (history, natural resources, stormwater). When improvements are made to Frost and English, sidewalks will be installed on both streets and street parking will be installed along Frost. 

 

This site was once home to the Gladstone Shops of the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad and included a roundhouse and repair shops. In 2012, the city conducted archeological investigations at Gladstone Savanna. These studies help document the site’s history and provide data from professionals that can help build a case for registering the site as a historical site, should the city wish to do so in the future.

Archeo-physics was contracted to use ground-penetrating radar to determine whether there are foundations and debris under the soil surface. This is a non-invasive technology using instrumentation on the surface and does not require exposing the foundations. The crew surveyed approximately 3 acres and found foundations or debris in several areas. Click here to see their results. This study was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

Summit Envirosolutions conducted an archeological investigation documenting all foundations and debris that were exposed or on the soil surface during PhaseIA construction.

1. Where is the parking lot? The Master Plan calls for street parking along Frost Avenue. That phase of the project will likely occur in conjunction with future street improvements on Frost (timing unknown). In the meantime, visitors can use the parking lot at Flicek Park or street parking in the neighborhood.

2. When will the playground go in? A future phase of the project calls for a new playground on the east side of the stormwater basin. The timnig of this is unknown. The existing play equipment will remain in place until the new playground is built.

3. When are you putting in the amphitheater? There are no plans for an amphitheater at this site. The Master Plan calls for a small sitting area near the northeast east corner of the preserve. Landscape features at that corner are part of Phase IB or later phases.