Wayzata’s Panoway Project

Whenever I attend the National Planning Conference, there are always sessions that stick out to me. This year was no different. One of those sessions was about the transformation that a little Minnesota town was undertaking. The story of Wayzata’s Panoway project is worth checking out.

What the Wayzata?

Wayzata is a cozy suburban town, directly west of downtown Minneapolis. Its name is derived from the Dakota word for “north” or “north shore” as it sits on the northern shoreline of Lake Minnetonka.

The area where the town sits was originally inhabited by the Mdewakanton people until 1851 when the Treaty of Mendota was signed. This sub-tribe of the Dakota was eventually exiled from Minnesota after 1862. Although platted in 1854, the extension of the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad to town in 1867 solidified Wayzata as a local transportation hub.

Local farmers enjoyed the access to regional markets that the railroad provided. Visitors to Wayzata enjoyed the access that the railroad provided to Lake Minnetonka. But the railroad also effectively cut the community off from the lakeshore as it was constructed along the northern shoreline of the lake. A parking lot was eventually constructed between the downtown businesses and the rail line. But rather than buffering the downtown from the railroad, it further buffered the residents from the lakefront.

Reconnecting to the Lake

Over a decade ago the Lake Effect Initiative began a visioning process that concentrated on the community’s biggest amenity. The vision created through the process called for a complete transformation of their waterfront. Surface parking lots and other underutilized areas along the rail line would be converted into public plazas, boardwalks, public parks, new marinas, and remodeled historic buildings.

The resulting project was labeled the Panoway on Wayzata Bay project. A transformative project designed to connect the downtown and the lakefront. The rail line still existed, but the safe redevelopment of the area around it would create a unique amenity for generations to come.

Reconnecting Wayzata to Lake Minnetonka was a significant move for the community, but also a large undertaking. Wayzata has just over 4,400 residents, so funding the project entirely from a small town budget would be an uphill battle.

A 501c3 organization entitled the Wayzata Conservancy was created to help shepherd the project toward completion. The Wayzata Conservancy helps to advocate and raise private funding. It creates a private-public partnership that provides more flexibility and more financial wherewithal than a city can provide on its own.

Three Phases

To make the project more fiscally viable, the Panoway has been split up into multiple phases.

Phase One: Completed in 2020, Phase One included the reconstruction of Lake Street in the Panoway area. The project cleaned up some utility issues and made the roadway more pedestrian and bike friendly. It tore out an existing parking lot and created the multi-use Plaza Park close to the lakefront. Included within the plaza part of the project was a plaque that was installed to acknowledge the burial mounds that were excavated for city development early in Wayzata’s history. This first phase also extended the Dakota Rail Regional Trail through the area, improving regional connectivity.

Phase Two: The second phase of the project was split into two separate phases. Phase 2A was targeted to construct a 1,200 foot-long boardwalk stretching along the lakefront from the historic Section Foreman House to the town’s Depot. With Phase 3, project champions have planned the adaptive reuse of the Section Foreman House into a lakefront learning center. Effectively restoring the historic structure and opening it to the public for historical and environmental education.

Phase Three: The plan for Phase Three includes the construction of an eco-park near the Section Foreman House and updates to the Depot Park as well.

Results

This short introductory video to the project provides a tour of the Panoway project. It also provides a summary of what the community has planned for the future of the project as well.

While not complete just yet, the Panoway project has already started fulfilling its promise to aid in economic growth, environmental stewardship, historic preservation, and public access to Lake Minnetonka.