Renovating Afton City's Town Square

A graphic mockup of landscaping and architectural plans for Afton, MN.

Afton's Town Square Park was established as the first public park plotted in the Minnesota Territory in 1855 and is located in the heart of the Old Village of Afton. St. Croix Trail (today's County Highway 21) runs north-south through the Old Village forming the eastern boundary of the Park which is about 500 feet from the edge of the St. Croix River bank.

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In the summer of 2013, the Minnesota Design Center was contacted by the Parks Commission to improve the aesthetic quality of the park and provide solutions to the site's persistent drainage issues that limit the recreational opportunities of the Park. In addition to improving the aesthetic quality of the Park, MDC provided a stormwater management plan that collects water run-off at the base of the bluff and directs it into a natural infiltration drainage system along the edges of County Highway 21.