Zimmerman, Minnesota is a city 42 miles northwest of Minneapolis and is located along U.S. Route 169. This city is in a rural area of Sherburne County and has a population of 6,189 from the most recent census.
Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge sits just to the northwest of Zimmerman and boasts a 30,700-acre refuge. In 1965 it was created to restore the wildlife values of the St. Francis River Basin. This refuge has one of the few oak savannahs in the U.S.
It is home to a variety of other attractions including the Fremont Wildlife Management Area, Maefield Park, Lake Fremont, Zimmerman Legion Park, Lions Memorial Park, Fairway Shores Golf Course, and Elk Lake.
Sitting along the southern shore of Lake Fremont is Grams Regional Park which covers more than 100 acres. It has two miles of trails and a boardwalk that takes visitors through open natural space, various wetland types, tamarack bog, and lush oak forest. The steep terrain offers scenic views of Lake Fremont and Blue Hill, which is 10 miles to the west.
Grams Regional Park, in partnership with other public agencies, are restoring 24 acres of the park to its native prairie environment. The process uses prescribed burns, conservation grazing with sheep and goats, and a diverse seed mix of native grasses and wildflowers.
Sherburne County wanted to update the park with a new nature play space along with a new pavilion, and an expanded parking lot. The Grams Regional Park had an existing picnic shelter for events or picnics, but the additional improvements would allow for more public use.
It will provide additional space and seating for events or picnics at the park since it’s a popular destination in the Zimmerman, Minnesota area for wildlife viewing, hiking, and the scenic views.
Romtec received the lead from HKGi, the landscape designer for this project. Sales worked primarily with HKGi on the plans and specifications for bid. HKGi is a landscape designer based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota providing planning, landscape architecture, and urban design services.
Romtec is providing a timber framed pavilion for Grams Park with a wood framed wall and stainless-steel counters for events, standing seam metal roof, a partition wall, timber truss with truss plates, and wood columns.
This project originally included the pavilion along with a vault restroom, but due to funding, the vault restroom was separated out to be procured later. There will be a separate opportunity created for the forthcoming vault restroom building that is designed to match the new covered area.
SafetyFirst Playground Maintenance was the general contractor who installed the pavilion along with the other renovations for Sherburne County. SafetyFirst Playground Maintenance is based out of Princeton, Minnesota, and provides playground maintenance, surfacing, and expansion services.
This project is a great addition to the Grams Regional Park in Zimmerman, Minnesota for Sherburne County, that Romtec was pleased to design and supply in partnership with HKGi.
If you are looking for a pavilion to add outdoor event space or picnic seating with a shelter at your park, contact Romtec today!