This leadership in preserving land along the city’s lakes, rivers and streams has earned the MPRB national recognition for its exceptional parks and trails. The project fulfills several MPRB goals, including creating facilities in Northeast Minneapolis, and completing a continuous park and trail along the upper riverfront in Northeast and North Minneapolis, according to the Above the Falls plan.

“We never anticipated that the entire parcel could be offered for public parkland,” said Jon Gurban, the Park Board superintendent. “The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has led revitalization efforts along the riverfront for decades, and we don’t want to miss this opportunity to further enhance it.”

If the land is acquired by the MPRB for Regional Park facilities, Gurban continued, it will be developed with input from the community.

The property is on the east bank of the Mississippi River just upstream of the Plymouth Avenue Bridge and Boom Island Park, part of the Central Riverfront Regional Park. A total of 13.87 acres, the site has been a lumberyard and lumber storage/transfer facility since the 1930s. The site lies within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, which extends 72 miles from Dayton to Hastings.

The property is also within the area of the Above the Falls (ATF) Master Plan, which was adopted by the MPRB, Metropolitan Council and City Council. This plan calls for continuous park and trail development along both banks of the river from the Plymouth Bridge to the northern city limits and North Mississippi Regional Park. Since the plan’s adoption, several trails on the west bank have been completed, and parkland on both banks has been secured and improved.

Protecting this property provides park access for a continuous east bank trail from Boom Island up to the railroad bridge at 18th Ave. NE. This trail will connect Plymouth Bridge with Broadway Bridge, creating a loop very popular for families, walkers, and cyclists. South of Broadway St. A segment of the industrial property owned by Graco will be accessible for trail purposes, according to an agreement between the City of Minneapolis and Graco. North of Broadway Bridge, Sheridan Memorial Park provides river access up to the railroad bridge.

This riverfront protection continues the MPRB’s commitment to provide public access to the river. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the MPRB had the vision to secure land for parks along the riverbank from St. Anthony Falls south to Minnehaha Falls and the St. Paul border. From the early 1970s through the late 1980s, the Park Board acquired and developed the Central Riverfront from St. Anthony Falls up to Plymouth Bridge. In 2000, the Park Board approved plans and initiated efforts to restore the riverfront north of the falls to parkland. With partners, the MPRB is continuing the task of restoring and transforming the Mississippi riverfront in Minneapolis.

“The need to acquire the parcel is tied directly the goals of the Above the Falls Master Plan and continues the establishment of park land along both sides of the Mississippi River,” said Judd Rietkerk, MPRB Director of Planning and Project Management. “It is also tied to the Park Board’s Comprehensive Plan goals of increasing access to the river, developing premier recreation facilities in north and northeast Minneapolis, and protecting the natural environment.”

“This proposal by Scherer Brothers and the Park Board offers an extraordinary opportunity to link riverfront trails while improving water quality in our national river,” noted Cordelia Pierson, interim Executive Director of the new Minneapolis Riverfront Corporation. “This represents a major step forward in the revitalization of the Mississippi riverfront and helps us achieve the goals of a healthy ecosystem, exceptional riverfront parks, world-class history and culture, and a vital livable community.”

“Our company's founding along the Mississippi has deep historical meaning, not only for the Scherer family and employees but also for the City of Minneapolis, where the river was vital to its development and commerce,” said Peter Scherer, CEO of Scherer Bros. Lumber. "If the Minneapolis Park Board does acquire the property, we will be pleased to see that a recreational area for the community will commemorate the site where my family first pulled logs from the river bottom.”