While Metro held off doing work that would disrupt visitors' experiences at Blue Lake Regional Park during the park's busiest season, lots of behind-the-scenes planning took place during summer 2022. After Labor Day, expect to see major construction and demolition work begin. This is some of the work expected to take place beginning in September:
Water line
Contractors will be installing a new water line from Northeast Interlachen Lane to the park under the north side of Northeast Blue Lake Road. The new water line will provide municipal water service to the park. This is a necessary improvement to meet local codes and support future work at the park. This first stage of a three-part infrastructure improvement is expected to be complete in November 2022. Design and engineering is already in process for the next stage: replacing water distribution lines within the park.
Building demolition
Several unused buildings at the park are being removed. These buildings have been found to be structurally unsound and/or no longer meet accessibility standards for public spaces. Removing these buildings, as well as installing infrastructure like the water lines, is a first step toward improving the park with new amenities. The buildings being removed are:
- the beach showers
- the Lake House and its auxiliary building
- the concession stand
- the boat house
- the park office and garage.
This demolition and removal work will involve heavy machinery, concrete saws, jackhammers, and dump trucks. The job sites will be cordoned off with safety fencing and dumpsters will be installed to collect debris for recycling. Asbestos removal for these demolition sites already took place in April 2022.
Curry Maintenance Facility improvements
Located along the northern edge of the park, the Curry Building and Blue Lake park offices serve as an operations hub for Metro’s entire park system. To prepare for demolition of the park office building and garage, two temporary buildings have been installed to provide office space for Metro’s park rangers and guest services. Design is underway to renovate the existing maintenance building and build a new park office.
Fishing pier and dock
The fishing pier is currently closed for safety reasons. After a structural assessment in 2020, it was found to be structurally unsound and was closed to the public. The project team is working with a contractor to explore options to either rehabilitate the existing fishing pier and improve its accessibility or remove and replace it. If it is not feasible to restore the existing pier, community members will be able to weigh in on long-term solutions.