Demolition is underway at Upper Harbor site

Posted on 14 September, 2022

Building demolition and site grading has begun at future 20-acre riverfront park, new park and parkway construction planned 2023-24

A rounded dome is demolished at the industrial Upper Harbor site, photo taken from above by drone

A drone photo of recent demolition at the Upper Harbor site. Photo courtesy of the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is working with the City of Minneapolis on the former Upper Harbor Terminal site to get it ready for a new 20-acre riverfront park.

The new regional park is part of a long-term redevelopment planned for the 53-acre former shipping terminal that closed at the end of 2014. The park will follow the west side of the Mississippi River for nearly a mile from 33rd Avenue N past Dowling Avenue N. It will include:

  • Rehabilitated riverbank and shoreline with a river overlook
  • Bike and walk paths along the river and through the park
  • Parkway road with parking
  • Central open plaza and lawn area for events and activities
  • Native trees, grasses, woody shrubs and perennials planted across the park
  • Stormwater treatment

Read the park concept plan for more details.

Construction Update

Work began in March on preparing the industrial site for park construction. Non-native vegetation was cleared and railroad tracks were removed. Building demolition recently started, which will be followed by site and shoreline grading to prepare for park and parkway construction in 2023-24. The new regional park is expected to open in 2024-25.

Equipment used for this work is large and heavy and can be extremely dangerous if people are not alert around it. Stay away from it at all times. Please, above all, impress upon any children to stay away from material piles and equipment parked on or near the job site.

A $743,482 grant from the Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund is helping offset soil cleanup costs associated with park construction.

MWMO Grant

On Aug. 3, 2022, MPRB Commissioners formally accepted a $2.6 million Capital Project Grant from the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO). The grant will go toward several site improvements, including habitat and shoreline restoration and a pedestrian overlook.

The MWMO funding will be used to regrade a gentler slope that will support the establishment of native vegetation featuring oak trees and other forbs, grasses and shrubs. These plantings, and the more gradual slope that makes them possible, will prevent the loss of shoreline, stabilize the riverbank soils, sequester carbon and restore habitat along the Mississippi River Corridor Critical Area.

The creation of the pedestrian overlook, which will be located directly across the river from the heron rookery, will allow bike and pedestrian trails to be routed in such a way as to provide better habitat and stormwater connectivity along a new parkway. The overlook will also become a headwall to a restored riverbank ravine feature and pipe overflow from a portion of a future district stormwater system.

Additional Resources