Forest Park in STL getting nearly $2 million in upgrades

Forest Park in St. Louis will get a new signage system, year-round drinking fountains and renovated restrooms thanks to a pair of donations.

The William T. Kemper Foundation-Commerce Bank trusteeis donating $1 million, with another $750,000 coming from Brown Shoe Co., according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Forest Park, the home of the St. Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Science Center, will get signs for bikers, joggers and drivers installed by late September. Work on restrooms is expected in two months, with new drinking fountains on the way.

Forest Park Forever, the nonprofit that works jointly with the city on the 1,300-acre park’s maintenance, raised the funds. It will then use those funds to purchase city bonds. Once the projects are funded, the city administers them, and the city’s bond repayment and interest are used by Forest Park Forever to maintain the park, according to the journal.

Read more from the St. Louis Business Journal.