East Harriet Dog Park 60 Percent Over Budget

According to the Southwest Journal, the East Harriet Farmstead Dog Park promises to be at least three times more expensive than any other dog park in Minneapolis. And that cost could increase yet again.

Looking at the cost increases, the average taxpayer could be forgiven for thinking the park would be paved with money. When the East Harriet site was chosen, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Park Board estimated it would cost $129,000. The Southwest Journal reports that a 2011 Park Board press release stated the project had a $132,500 budget. The lowest bid presented to the Park Board last week was $191,000, and the Park Board thinks the project will cost $215,000, for a so-far cost explosion of 60 percent.

There is good news for taxpayers. Paving the park with a single carpet of dollar bills would still be more expensive, according to Patch's calculations. The dog park site is around 0.64 acres, or 4,014,490 square inches. As the dollar bill in your wallet is 15.86 square inches, it would take just over $253,120 before labor costs to cover the doggie play area, although the site's drainage problems would probably persist.

The bad news is that the park is going to be at least three and a half times more expensive than the most expensive dog park the city has built so far, in between Lake of the Isles. That park cost $62,000

Read the full story—including what's driving the cost overruns—in the Southwest Journal.