the park rapids arts and events center

 The Park Rapids Armory was once believed to be a building that was too big to renovate and too expensive to tear down. The facility had been vacant for 18 years prior to restoration and had a number of environmental issues preventing redevelopment of the site. Due to a number of local private and public partners, a plan for restoration was put into place. Braun Intertec joined the effort as the project’s environmental consultant. 

 After more than two years of planning, environmental cleanup, installation of new utility services, including state-of-the-art stormwater abatement infrastructure, energy efficiency upgrades and accessibility improvements, Phase I of “Armory Square” opened to the public. Phase I featured an expansion by Summerhill Farm, a well-regarded local retailer, into a new, year-round facility on the corner of 2nd Street and Park Avenue. 

 Phase II included restaurant space, studio spaces for offices, education, visual artists, music and dance instruction, gallery spaces, workshops, and an event pavilion for community events, conferences and performing arts.