Missoula Downtown Foundation & Dick Anderson Construction bring Shade Structure to Caras Park

Missoula Downtown Foundation & Dick Anderson Construction bring Shade Structure to Caras Park, bringing Phase 1 Implementation of the North Riverside Parks & Trails Plan to completion.

Missoula’s recently-renovated Caras Park will get a little cooler, thanks to the Missoula Downtown Foundation and its partnership with Dick Anderson Construction and the City of Missoula Parks & Recreation to install a custom-made shade canopy over the amphitheater seating in the park, starting Friday, Aug. 12.

The collaborative effort leveraged over $100,000 in funding provided by the Foundation and donated labor from Dick Anderson Construction’s Apprentice Training Program. The project includes the installation of six steel columns that will hold 10 triangular shade sails over the recently-completed seating area in Caras Park, providing a cool opportunity to enjoy the many events held in the park during the summer season.

“The price for this type of installation would usually be approximately $12,500,” said Allan Frankl, Vice President of Dick Anderson Construction. “Through this collaboration, our apprentice students will get hands-on experience with a unique project, and the community wins with a cool new colorful feature in Caras Park.”

While the steel columns will remain year-round once installed, the shade sails will be installed seasonally spring through fall and provide an unobstructed view of the amphitheater stage. Parks & Recreation is coordinating many of the logistics for the project, and officials say park and trail users should expect brief closures while crews use heavy equipment to do the installation. Crews are expected to start work this week, with impacts over two days.

The installation of the shade structure marks the end of the first phase of planned improvements to Caras Park under the North Riverside Parks & Trails Plan, adopted by the City Council and several other Missoula organizations in 2020. A celebration will be held at Out to Lunch on Wednesday, Aug. 31 to showcase the improvements and acknowledge the businesses and individuals who collectively donated over $1 million dollars to the Missoula Downtown Foundation for the project.

“We are excited to see this project come to completion, and we look forward to celebrating our partners and donors who made this project come to life in a short period of time,” said Christine Littig, Board President of the Missoula Downtown Foundation. “We are so grateful for the generosity of our fellow Missoulians, who helped make the magic happen in our beloved city-center park.”

For more information about the project, contact the Downtown Missoula Partnership via phone (406-543-4238) or email ([email protected]). For more information about the North Riverside Parks & Trails Plan and planned improvements, visit www.missouladowntown.com/downtown-master-plan/north-riverside-parks-trails/