Dickerman Park is a linear green space on the north side of University Avenue in St. Paul, between Fairview Avenue and Aldine Street. It was donated to the City in 1909 by the Dickerman Investment Company and Griggs, Cooper and Company at a time when University Avenue was envisioned to become a grand landscaped boulevard. Because it has the appearance of private property, many people in the surrounding community are unaware that this plot of land is a City-owned park. It abuts the Griggs Midway Building; Midway Family YMCA; Metro Sound and Lighting; Community Learning Centers Building; and Marsden Maintenance/American Security.

Beginning in 2002, the Friends of the Parks and Trails of Saint Paul and Ramsey County initiated a series of meetings with residents and community groups in the area regarding the future of the park. This informal working group researched the history of the park, and related legal issues as to its ownership and management over the years. In the summer of 2003, the group requested that University UNITED convene a more formal community process to develop a consensus vision for the future of the park. A Dickerman Park Task Force was organized by University UNITED, which included the following property owners, and community representatives:

Dickerman Park Task Force

Joe Spencer, Hamline Midway Coalition
Mary Maguire, Merriam Park Community Council
Mark Thieroff, Merriam Park Community Council and Hamline Midway Coalition
Truman Porter, Friends of Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County
Jeanne Weigum, Friends of Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County
Bob Straughn, Midway Chamber of Commerce
Nell McClung, Griggs Midway Building
Jim Coggins, Charter School Building
Larry Fischer, Metro Sound and Lighting
David Dominick, Midway Family YMCA
Lorrie Brown, Family Learning Center Charter School
Mary Marsden, Marsden Maintenance
Brian Becker, Goodwill/ Easter Seals
Bob Bierscheid, St. Paul Parks and Recreation
Jane Prince, Councilmember Jay Benanav's Office
Christine Podas-Larson, Public Art Saint Paul
Brian McMahon, University UNITED

Technical Advisory Group

St. Paul on the Mississippi Decign Center
Design Center for the American Urban Landscape
University UNITED
Public Art Saint Paul
Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County
St. Paul Department of Parks and Recreation
St. Paul Department of Planning and Economic Development
St. Paul Department of Public Works
Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority
Metro Transit