8th Avenue Streamscape Connecting North Loop neighborhood to the Mississippi Riverfront via parks, public walkways and green space along 8th Avenue N

Project Milestones

History

The 8th Avenue Streamscape is a future linear park that will weave through streets and properties in North Loop neighborhood and connect the Mississippi River to 5th Street N., near the Metro Transit garage.

The vision for a downtown linear park unfolded from the MPRB master planning process for the  Downtown Service Area Master Plan (DSAMP), adopted in 2017. The plan outlined that “downtown needs parks and the chance to fold park-like spaces into the experience of downtown… allowing the pattern to be some combination of public and private spaces better reflects the need for diversity in the experience of downtown.” (page 3-3)

The original route in DSAMP was outlined through identifying potential future public and private opportunities known at that time. Since 2017, it has become clear that the route will shift from the original route based on the actual properties and opportunities that have unfolded between public and private partnerships.

The Riverloop Connection, a Board-approved park dedication land-in-lieu agreement, provides public trails between West River Parkway and 8th Avenue.  It was constructed in the fall of 2020 and is open to the public.

In July 2021, a recently purchased surface parking lot located on 3rd Street N between 7th and 8th Avenues was converted into an open, sodded, green space – the beginning of North Loop’s first neighborhood park.

The 8th Avenue Streamscape got its name from Bassett Creek, which is buried but still flowing underneath downtown Minneapolis along a route that roughly follows 8th Avenue to the Mississippi River.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board has been steadily acquiring land and negotiating easements or other agreements to develop a visible, green connection through the North Loop neighborhood to the Mississippi River since 2017, when the Downtown Service Area Master Plan was approved.