MANKATO — The developers behind a massive new outdoor recreation complex — featuring miles of free public mountain-biking trails and a fee-based private campground and aquatic park — can’t move forward with their ambitious plans without a permit from the Lime Township Board of Supervisors.
So the big final push to create what might become one of the region’s more notable tourism attractions hinges on yet-to-be-made decisions by the board.
Joe Holtmeier and Kyle Kaldor are convinced, however, they’re designing the project in a collaborative way that will alleviate concerns and ultimately result in an interim use permit allowing Rockwell RV and Adventure Park to open as soon as next spring.
“We worked with the township to create an ordinance that permits recreation and campgrounds,” said Kaldor, the project manager. “And then we’ve been working with them the whole time on what we’re planning.”
That level of communication has resulted in some indications that most elements of the plan are on the right track. There also have been a “can’t do that” or two from township officials and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. But Kaldor and Holtmeier, the owner of the two quarries that make up the project, have enough confidence the permit will be granted that they’ve been literally laying the groundwork for the future 90-acre park.
The final stages of mining in the larger Stoffel Quarry, located west of Third Avenue just north of Pilgrims Rest Cemetery, are underway with the intended next use very much in mind. The gravel and other types of aggregate being processed and hauled away for construction projects in the area were removed systematically to create the leveled surfaces that are to become the RV campground, parking areas, mountain bike trailheads and a building site for the park’s welcome center.
Other material was precisely excavated to create a large pond for the aqua park and to shape another even larger body of water for a wakeboarding park.
Foundations for miles of mountain bike trails have been established, and several unique features for the riders are already coming into existence.
“We worked almost all through the winter,” Kaldor said.
Even as they labored, they knew the fate of their project rests on several critical regulatory reviews in the coming months.
“We are excited about the vision, but we also respect the township’s review process and want the community to understand where the project currently stands,” Kaldor said.
Planning, engineering and design are nearing completion; public engagement is underway; and the written application for an interim use permit is being finalized. (See accompanying story.)
Once limestone mining on the property wraps up, a milestone expected to occur in August, the township will take up the application for the quarries’ proposed next use.
Rockwell officials hope to see the Lime Township Board make a decision on the permit in September.
If the answer is yes, redevelopment of the site will surge through the late fall and winter with a goal of having the campground open about the time the school year comes to a close. The vast majority of the proposed park — the cable-based boat-free mechanized system to pull water-skiers and wakeboarders around a large pond, the rock-climbing walls, the family-oriented water park, the large campgrounds for RV and tent campers, and six-plus miles of mountain bike trails — is to be created in the initial buildout.
The completed and currently ongoing work — establishing the general grades for the future amenities and excavating to shape the water features — involved moving materials within the setback lines surrounding the quarry, something allowed under the exiting mining permit.
“So we’ve been able to do some of that work,” Kaldor said.
The initial efforts are readily apparent. There’s a gradually inclined western shore in the aqua park pond that will serve as the swimming beach — an area that will also include water-park-style floating features for climbing, sliding, jumping and other play for swimmers age 4 and older.
On the opposite side of the pond are limestone cliffs above water that descends to a depth of 20 feet. Along those cliffs are to be artificial climbing walls where climbers can test their skills without harnesses, knowing any falls will end only in a big splash.
On shore, plans call for shorter climbing walls with soft earth or padding to cushion any falls.
Avid rock climbers may recognize the name of the person helping develop the climbing walls at Rockwell — Shoreview native and Olympic climber Kyra Condie.
Another Minnesota native — former professional wakeboarder and current TV host Alexa Score — is partnering with Rockwell on development and future promotion of the cable park, which will be in a larger pond a short distance south of the aqua park. Electric motors on six towers will power cables pulling wakeboarders clockwise around the pond, with floating ramps and rails offering a chance for the adventurous to go airborne.
As Kaldor shows visitors around the site, he notes that redevelopment of the quarry also will mean greening it up.
“We’re going to restore a lot of the grassland vegetation and put in some trees,” he said. “It’s not going to be solid rock everywhere. We want to have some of that green space to soften (the appearance).”
For mountain bikers exploring the entire park, the natural areas are to be interrupted by regular reminders of the property’s past use as a quarry. Those include some sheer walls, lots of limestone boulders, a bit of railway leftover from a rock wool insulation manufacturer that once occupied part of the property, and backhoes planted as sculptures along a watery portion of the mountain bike trail.
Assuming the permit is approved, Adam Buck of Eagan-based Pathfinder Trail Building will arrive in the fall to create the actual final grades, turns and riding surfaces for the mountain bike trails along the roughed-out route created by Kaldor and Holtmeier.
“We’re going to put a lot more work into it once the permitting is done,” Kaldor said. “We’ll have two, three, four guys who will work directly with the trail builder. And then we’ll have another crew just doing utilities.”
For Kaldor, the work won’t stop once the park is finished. He’s the project manager not just for creating Rockwell RV and Adventure Park but also for operating it.
That means overseeing a staff that will likely total 15 to 20 workers during the peak summer season. The park has room for up to 300 campsites, although not all are expected to be created in the first phase. And the water attractions are anticipated to bring swarms of ticket buyers on warm days.
The bottom-line assignment will involve keeping a lot of people happy, healthy and eager to return.
“It’s probably going to be a little overwhelming the first few months,” he said.
And if the permitting process goes well this fall, the target date for the grand opening weekend is an ambitious one, Kaldor said: “Probably Memorial Day, next year.”