Jill Schramm /MDN Prairie Sky Breads staff take a few minutes of break on a sunny afternoon in the parklet outside the business Wednesday. From left are Courtney McDonald, Cherise Van Hooser, Damian Web, Kelli Schmidt, Jazmine Schultz, Kahyman Lydy and Alex Richardson.

Minot’s first parklet is a cozy rest stop that has been attracting visitors since it opened just after Labor Day.

“It’s been well utilized so far,” said Jazmine Schultz, co-owner of Prairie Sky Breads, in front of which the parklet sits. “I just feel like it’s a very relaxed atmosphere.”

The parklet at 3 1st St. SE is the first parklet/streetery created since the City of Minot approved their installation this past April. Jonathan Rosenthal, economic developer for the city, said a second downtown property owner is making plans to apply, and others have shown interest, indicating more parklets/streeteries are possible in the future.

Streeteries and parklets are platforms with fencing on three sides that extend from a downtown sidewalk’s curb into a parallel parking space in front of the owner’s property. Both allow for outdoor seating, but streeteries are more focused on dining use. The City of Minot allows the platforms to be in place from April 15 to Oct. 15.

Schultz stressed that the parklet is open to anyone to use. They do not need to be Prairie Sky Breads customers.

“It is public property,” she said. Prairie Sky Breads staff assist in watering plants and keeping the structure tidy.

Schultz said that although the parklet takes up a parking spot, data shows parklets draw more people, bringing more business.

“Evidence suggests that it will be good for us. We’re in support, at least in trying something new,” she said. “People have been asking for some changes downtown for a long time, and we have to be willing to try some new things in order to make changes.”

The parklet has tables and chairs this fall, but Schultz said the plan for next year is to add benches, which didn’t get finished this year.

Rosenthal said the parklet/streetery designs he has seen in traveling to the West Coast, where the structures are common, haven’t always been the most attractive, so he’s been pleased with the way Minot’s program is starting out.

“The first one we have is a really great example,” he said. “I think there’s no better advertising than the one that went up in front of Prairie Sky Breads. People have taken notice of it and will want to emulate that. It’s really well executed.”

The parklet was designed and constructed by the property owner, Aksal Group. Ryan Ackerman with Aksal Group, a carpentry hobbyist, said the fundamentals of the design were structural soundness, aesthetics to match the adjacent buildings and portability.

The outside dimensions of eight-feet wide by 22-feet long are the maximum allowed under city policy. The frames are built of steel for strength and longevity, while the veneers of the planters and the deck are stained, treated lumber to add warmth to the steel and the adjacent brick of the buildings, Ackerman said. The parklet was made to be portable, with the deck designed as three separable elements.

The seven perimeter planters are designed to be moved independently. All of the components stack into a footprint of eight feet by eight feet for simple storage and are deployed and stored through the use of a utility vehicle with a forklift, Ackerman explained.

He reported the shop fabrication, finishing and planting took about 150 person-hours to compete. The installation on the street was completed in about three hours by a team of four.

Ackerman, who did the construction work primarily with the help of family, gained experience that he is willing to share.

“My parklet design and construction resume is pretty short, but I’m always willing to lend some ideas or a hand with installation if I am available. My hope is that the next one in downtown is better than the first and that things continue to improve in the neighborhood,” Ackerman said.

Streeteries and parklets are allowed only on streets with parallel parking and speed limits of 25 mph or less. Although proposed with downtown Minot in mind, Main Street will not have them because of the diagonal parking. Rosenthal said in addition to downtown, there is potential for parklets and streeteries in future neighborhood commercial districts.