Under the agreement Dardenne Prairie approved this fall, the city's planning consultant has a target of December 31, 2026 to finish a first improvement project at Barathaven Park. The full master plan, the document meant to decide what Barathaven becomes, isn't due until March 31, 2027.
That order is on purpose. The city kept the first project small enough to finish quickly and left the larger questions for the plan. If you walk the loop, fish from the piers or use the practice fields, you can no longer weigh in on the first project. You can still weigh in on the second, larger one.
Two Clocks on One Contract
On September 16, 2026, the Board of Aldermen passed Bill 26-41 as Ordinance 2434 by a 5-0 vote. It authorizes an agreement with SWT Design, a St. Louis landscape architecture firm, for a master plan, engineering and Phase I improvements at the 94-acre park. The SWT proposal in the city's September 16 agenda packet sets three deadlines:
| Milestone | Target date | What it produces |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 improvement project | December 31, 2026 | A first round of work at the park |
| Phase One scope and budget | December 31, 2026 | A cost figure the city can use in its FY2027 budget |
| Final master plan | March 31, 2027 | A long-range site plan, phase budgets and priorities |
The proposal says the 2026 project runs "in parallel with the initial tasks of the park master plan." It is meant to favor work that needs "minimal permitting, lead time, design, and bidding requirements," and to use current city procurement contracts or cooperative purchasing where possible. The contract also assumes the 2026 work stays outside the Dardenne Creek floodway and away from existing wetlands and detention basins. That rules out any project that would need extra flood modeling. All of that keeps the 2026 project modest.
Why the City Is Moving Fast Now
The quick timeline comes from money the city set aside for the park and didn't spend. City Administrator Kyle Michel's September 11 staff report says the FY2026 budget set aside about $410,000 for Barathaven improvements. Because of "staffing transitions and delays in implementation of the FY2026 capital program," that work never started. Staff had already recommended cutting the current-year amount by $200,000 while keeping enough to start priority projects and pay for design work.
The same report says Barathaven planning isn't starting from scratch. The city's 2019 Parks and Recreation Master Plan covered every city park at once and already listed improvements at Barathaven that "remain relevant today." This new effort covers only Barathaven and is meant to move those older priorities "toward design, funding, and construction."
The figures differ depending on which document you read. The SWT agreement assumes the master plan and the 2026 project together, including design fees and construction, will not exceed $250,000. Mid Rivers Newsmagazine reported that Michel gave rough estimates at the September 16 meeting: about $55,000 for the master plan and $25,000 for improvements to be finished by the end of the fiscal year. He also said negotiations with SWT were still going on. The same article says staff expects to use about $250,000 over the rest of FY2026 and plans to recommend about $410,000 more in capital funding for FY2027.
Put together, the 2026 project is the small piece. The FY2027 money, and whatever the final plan recommends, is where most of the change would happen.
What Fits Before December 31
Mid Rivers listed the possible 2026 improvements as an ADA-accessible fishing dock, lake aeration, a shelter or pavilion, trail or accessibility work, and other amenities. As of the Board's October 21 agenda, none of these had been picked. The October 7 and October 21 agendas include no Barathaven bid, award or project. Treat that list as options, not plans.
The lake items fit the fast-track rules best. A dock and aeration can go in quickly, and the lake is already the park's main feature. Great Rivers Greenway's guide to the Dardenne Greenway says visitors fish from the lake piers and paddle the water by kayak or canoe.
What Waits for the Plan
The longer list in SWT's scope is where the park could change most. The firm will draw up two or three rough design concepts. Each will compare construction cost, maintenance needs, environmental factors and accessibility. The concepts will cover these areas:
- Barathaven Lake: water-quality work on aeration, lake depth, the lake edge and inflow, plus habitat structures, fishing access, a kayak ramp, and education and programs.
- The practice field area: an off-leash dog park, open-air pavilions, a prefabricated vault restroom, "play pocket" areas built for interactive family play, and an athletic field built to hold up to year-round use.
- Getting around: better and longer trails, new entries and trailheads from nearby streets, and a review of whether the park needs more vehicle access and parking.
- Supporting pieces: benches and other furnishings, signage that meets City and Great Rivers Greenway standards, and lighting designed with nearby properties in mind.
- Landscape: planting along the lake and the Dardenne Creek corridor, native plantings for habitat and education, and new trees for shade in key spots.
Most items on this list are new to Barathaven. The city's park page lists the current amenities as three miles of trails, the 15-acre lake, soccer fields and a cricket pitch. A dog park, a restroom and pavilions would be the first additions in years and would bring more kinds of visitors. In his Fall 2026 quarterly update, Mayor Keith Widaman said the work would follow community input while preserving the park's natural character.
The Park the Plan Starts From
Barathaven sits inside the residential development it's named for, so its trails also work as neighborhood paths. Great Rivers Greenway describes a 4.13-mile paved loop through the development, with trailheads on both sides of Henning Road and a connection to the western greenway at the Technology Drive trailhead. That loop is longer than the three miles the city lists because it runs past the city-maintained park.
The fields have their own history. In 2016, the city and the American Cricket Academy and Club–St. Louis agreed to build a cricket pitch at the park. As Mid Rivers Newsmagazine reported, the city covered the $26,887.35 construction cost up front, and the club and donors were to pay it back. When the field opened, St. Louis Public Radio reported in March 2017 that the academy then had about 160 children, plus four women's teams. Today the city rents out three Barathaven fields for soccer, football and lacrosse, along with one cricket field. Any new athletic field, dog park or pavilion in the practice field area would have to fit around those rentals.
The park is also part of a larger trail network. Great Rivers Greenway is planning a one-mile Dardenne Greenway extension west from Bluebird Meadow, through O'Fallon Sports Park, to the Highway K shared-use path. The project helps close the gap between Bluebird Meadow in Dardenne Prairie and Highway N in Cottleville. Construction is expected later in 2026, with no start date announced. SWT's staff report calls out Barathaven's ties to the greenway and blueway as one reason it treats the park as regional. Mid Rivers quoted Mayor Widaman saying the parks are "widely used by our residents and some people from the local area."
Where Input Still Counts
The first open house was held October 13 at City Hall, and the online survey that went with it is now closed. SWT's scope lays out the remaining steps in this order:
- SWT and city staff review the two or three concepts privately. Stakeholders can see them before they go public.
- A second community open house asks which concept residents prefer, what they want new amenities to look like, and which projects should come first. Online feedback runs alongside it, and attendees get an update on the 2026 project.
- SWT combines the feedback into one final plan and confirms the Phase One scope and budget.
- The final plan goes to the Board of Aldermen at a third public meeting.
No date has been set for the second open house. The city's Barathaven Park page says it will post updates there. That second meeting is the main chance to weigh in on where a dog park goes, whether a restroom gets built, and which projects come first.
In the meantime, Great Rivers Greenway lists a beginner birdwatching walk from the Barathaven trailhead on Sunday, November 8. Families who use City Hall Park can expect a short closure there too. The Board approved up to $30,000 for replacement playground equipment on September 16. On October 7 it authorized a resurfacing contract of up to $375,000 under Resolution 408. Michel has said the park will close for about a week once the equipment arrives, with no date set yet.
At The Benes Group, we keep track of the city projects that change daily life in Dardenne Prairie, including the Barathaven plan as it heads to its second open house. If you're thinking about what your home is worth, Request a Complimentary Home Valuation.
