Shoreview Commons A community destination decades in the making By Katie Swanson, Communications Specialist, Landscape Structures
In the early 1990s, the Shoreview City Council acquired 40 acres of land in central Shoreview. It was then that they started putting together plans to create a central community gathering space —something the council felt was lacking as the city didn’t have a typical downtown area. A joint venture with the city council and staff resulted in the creation of the Shoreview Community Center at Shoreview Commons complete with city staff offices, ball fields, a regional library and more. Since then, the team has been working together to make improvements.
16 MINNESOTA Recreation and Parks • www.mnrpa.org
Serving community families By the early 2000s, the city was focused on capitalizing on the popularity of the community center. They incorporated fitness facilities, community rooms and a pavilion to the outdoor space. “We wanted to make sure our facilities all worked together,” explained Terry Schwerm, recently retired city manager for the City of Shoreview. “The community center was becoming a popular place to be, and we needed a plan to bring our longrange vision to fruition.” And that’s why they developed a master plan. Schwerm and his team realized they needed a strategy to help guide the future growth and development of Shoreview Commons. The community was becoming increasingly more diverse—in age, ability and background—and the city wanted to meet the needs of everyone. “Our goal from the beginning was to serve all ages with a keen focus on families,” said Schwerm.
