For decades, the Coon Rapids Dam area offered visitors direct access to the Mississippi River, but not much else outside of that. Amenities were limited, interpretive infrastructure was minimal, and the river’s ecological and cultural significance had no clear home base from which to be explored and understood.
In 2017, Three Rivers Park District and the City of Brooklyn Park launched a community-driven planning process to change that. The vision was a unified regional destination centered on the Mississippi River, anchored by a new visitor and education facility that could serve as both a physical and symbolic gateway to the river and the ecosystems surrounding it.
Rather than retrofitting aging structures, the project partners chose to invest in a purpose-built facility designed from the ground up to support education, programming, and year-round public use. The result is the Gateway Center, a 15,000-square-foot visitor and learning hub that anchors Mississippi Gateway Regional Park and provides a welcoming starting point for exploration of the river and its surrounding landscape.
The fully redeveloped park and Gateway Center officially opened to the public on September 6, 2025, following several years of phased construction and site improvements.
From the beginning, the Gateway Center was designed as a long-term public asset with sustainability at its core. Given its state funding, the project also carried a B3 Guidelines requirement, which set a defined standard for energy efficiency the design team was driven to meet.
The design team prioritized strategies that would reduce energy demand while delivering a comfortable, durable facility. Passive daylighting minimizes lighting loads and enhances the visitor experience throughout the building. For heating and cooling, the Darcy groundwater geothermal system was selected to provide efficient, low-impact temperature control within a compact footprint, which was an important consideration given the ecological sensitivity of the site.
Together, these strategies position the Gateway Center on a pathway toward net-zero energy performance, supporting long-term operational efficiency while reinforcing the park’s core educational message about natural systems and resource conservation.
Design development and construction of the Gateway Center unfolded as part of a larger, multi-year park redevelopment effort. Community master planning kicked off in 2017, followed by formal construction in July 2019, focusing first on foundational park infrastructure such as site grading, utility installation, and realignment of trails and parking to support future vertical development.
An official groundbreaking on June 14, 2023, marked the start of construction on the Gateway Center building, alongside major park features including the elevated Treetop Trail, nature-based play areas, and expanded trail connections throughout the site.
After nearly a decade of planning and phased construction, the fully redeveloped Mississippi Gateway Regional Park opened on September 6, 2025.
The Gateway Center represents a public commitment to environmental education, community access, and stewardship of one of the country’s most significant natural corridors. By combining thoughtful architecture, geothermal-powered efficient systems, and immersive learning spaces that connect the indoors to the surrounding landscape, the facility is built to serve visitors of all ages for generations to come.
Driven by a desire for innovation and fiscal responsibility, the Lake Waconia project targeted a mechanical design that offers industry-leading efficiency and low lifetime maintenance costs. Publicly funded projects must abide by the B3 Guidelines in Minnesota, which the Waconia design team incorporated into this plan. This strategy ensures a sustainable future for the site in Waconia.
Selected for its innovative use of groundwater, the Darcy system provides Lake Waconia with a high-efficiency HVAC solution that is both space-efficient and cost-effective. Stakeholders benefit from a system designed for longevity and minimal environmental impact.
Darcy Solutions installed a three-well, 110-ton groundwater geothermal system for the Paradise Commons building at Lake Waconia Regional Park in Waconia, Minnesota. This sustainable installation provides energy-efficient heating and cooling for the waterfront services center while meeting strict B3 energy standards for state-funded public facilities.
For the St. Paul Como Zoo facility, the stakeholders emphasized the importance of a forward-thinking energy strategy. The goals centered on achieving peak efficiency and a minimized total cost of ownership through the integration of innovative, reliable thermal technologies.
Learn more about the long-term plan and initial work of the project at the Como Zoo and Conservatory website.
Darcy Solutions implemented a 293-ton, four-well groundwater geothermal system to decarbonize the Primates, Polar Bear, and Administration buildings at the Como Park Zoo. This landmark project replaces an aging 70-year-old steam boiler plant with a high-efficiency heat pump system to support the City of Saint Paul’s 2030 carbon neutrality goals.
By utilizing Darcy’s innovative approach, the project team was able to maximize heating and cooling performance while navigating the site’s geographic constraints. The system’s superior efficiency and scalability make it a strategic long-term asset for the stakeholders at St. Paul’s Como Zoo.
