St. Joseph’s Corby Pond may be a snow-covered destination now, but come spring, park visitors will have several new and improved amenities for public use.
Centrally located within the city’s northern Parkway system, city officials are laying the groundwork for planned construction of a new 20-by-40-foot pavilion, restroom facility and sidewalks, new features expected to be finished by late May to further enhance the area.
“It neighbors with the Dog Park, Eagles Baseball Complex, the Urban Trail System. You’ve got fishing. There’s a lot of activity in that area,” St. Joseph Parks, Recreation and Civic Facilities Director Chuck Kempf said. “The storm water project kind of initiated work over there and then we’ve tried to take advantage of that.”
City councilmembers authorized the next step for development on Jan. 6 by green-lighting an ordinance to purchase the pavilion/shelter for $51,057 from Athco LLC.
The structure will look similar to pavilions/shelters at Bartlett Park and Patee Park and will be furnished with picnic tables, benches, trash cans and grills.
Bartlett Park Shelter/Pavilion 1
A shelter/pavilion at Bartlett Park is pictured on Wednesday. Corby Pond will see the same type of structure added this spring, along with new restrooms and sidewalks.
Whether its offering residents a reprieve from the summer heat, a spot to grab lunch or organizing birthday parties and family reunions, parks officials see a variety of potential uses for the new amenity.
“We’ve always wanted a shelter in Corby Pond but it was a little bit difficult over there because of the way that the pond relates to the parkway,” Kempf said. “It’s multi-use and I think it’s really going to be something that a lot of people will use.”
Funds for construction were made possible thanks to a $202,641 Outdoor Recreation Grant awarded to the city from the Missouri Department of Conservation, which manages water quality maintenance and fish stocking for the pond.
The pavilion will be located on the opposite side of the parkway as the pond next to North 22nd Street and the new unisex restroom.
Park maintenance staff will install the pavilion while Lee Grover Construction is responsible for the $329,000 restroom project.
“The old restroom was built in the early- to mid-1950s. Obviously not ADA compliant. It had a lot of years of use and needed to be replaced, it was not in the best of shape,” Kempf said.
Lee Grover has already completed some early phase work after demolishing the old restroom in the fall. The facility will be fitted with a 7-by-9-foot storage room for residents.
The Corby Pond restroom project includes multiple sidewalk connections and construction of a new crosswalk to boost safety and accommodate additional foot traffic.
The small parking lot located south by N. 22nd Street will be connected to the pavilion and restrooms via the crosswalk over the parkway while 5-foot-wide sidewalks will connect the pavilion and restroom.
Corby Pond 2
A snow-covered Corby Pond is shown from South 22nd Street on a sunny Wednesday in St. Joseph.
“We think we can work in conjunction with each other (Lee Grover). We’ll be trying to get some things ready for the shelter while they’re finishing up the restroom,” Kempf said. “Hopefully all of that will get done about the same time and be ready for the summer activities when school gets out.”
Improvements in 2025 come on the heels of several improvement projects carried out in 2022 and 2023 as part of a storm water improvement project by the Public Works and Transportation Department.
The pond was completely drained and excavated in preparation for improvements to the storm water collection ability of the pond.
“We did some work around the shoreline. We added the two docks, replaced a dock that was in disrepair, and then we added another dock to enhance that fishing experience,” Kempf concluded.