MANKATO — The parking lot at the Blue Earth County Historical Society was “vintage,” as Executive Director Jessica Potter describes it. It was in desperate need of repairs.
To make way for the reconstructed parking lot on Warren Street, the Historical Society first bought a neighboring house and razed it. That was Phase 1 of the project.
Phase 2 is the revamped parking lot. All total, it’s a $600,000 project.
The Historical Society has received $150,000 in in-kind donations and has $150,000 left to raise. To that end, it is selling patio bricks ranging in price from $125 to $500.
“We started construction at the end of May,” Potter said. “The new parking lot is under construction. We’ve had some weather delays, but otherwise the project has been smooth. They work so fast, I can’t believe it. That’s what we’ve been working on, a brand-new parking lot.”
The new parking lot will feature lights for the first time, which offer safety for what used to be a dark corner, Potter said. “We look forward to that investment not only for us but for our neighbors.”
The Historical Society also is expanding its native plant gardens and making other landscape improvements as part of the construction project.
“It’s a beautiful respite tucked in a spot in downtown Mankato that you don’t expect,” Potter said.
Nik Proehl, board chairman for the Historical Society, said the revamped parking lot is a “rejuvenation of our facilities and it also sends a message to our neighbors that we’re invested, and the Historical Society is lucky enough to be thriving right now.”
At the end of the summer, a “parking lot party” is planned, Potter said, to celebrate a project that’s been 10 years in the making.
The new lot is more accessible, she said, and another improvement is curb cuts off 5th Street. Moreover, the improved parking lot is a “great infrastructure enhancement for the History Center. When we expand the building, it’ll give us the parking space for that expansion.”
An expansion is next on the Historical Society’s to-do list, Potter said.
Proehl agreed, saying the parking lot is “just a start in our minds. We have a longer-term vision for the History Center. We are chock-full of history around here so to be able to meaningfully share that with the residents of Blue Earth County is really the long-term goal.”
The Historical Society had projected a 2025 beginning for its next capital campaign, but Proehl said that will likely be pushed back. He does know it will be a campaign of millions of dollars.