Call in or email your comments about proposed design for new park along North Minneapolis riverfront
A public hearing on a plan for a new 20-acre regional park at the Upper Harbor site is scheduled Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 6:45 pm. The concept plan for the new park sets a 5-10 year vision for parkland at the 53-acre Upper Harbor site along the North Minneapolis riverfront.
This single park concept plan follows draft concept plans for the park that were published in September for a 45-day public comment period that ended Oct. 22, 2021. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) extends an enormous thank you to the hundreds of community members, staff and agency partners that helped shape the new park vision over two years of gathering feedback on ideas, opportunities and concerns about the new park.
Use the link below to view the plan:
Upper Harbor Terminal Park Concept Plan
Participate in the Public Hearing
Park Commissioners will participate remotely by telephone or other electronic means due to the local public health emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Virtual meetings are authorized under Minn. Stat. 13D.021.
No members of the public will be allowed inside Mary Merrill Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board Headquarters for the board meeting. Instead, community members who wish to offer comments may do so by calling in or writing in.
Call (recommended)
You may sign up to provide comment for the public hearing by phone by completing the Virtual Speaker Signup Form before 12 pm on Nov. 17.
- Speakers will be sent a call-in number and conference ID one hour before the meeting
- Speakers call into the meeting using the call-in number and conference ID at its the scheduled time
- Speakers will enter the meeting and the committee chair will provide guidance for commenting
- Speakers can watch the meeting through the normal meeting broadcast
- Be aware there is a 20-30 second lag between the call and the broadcast
- Please turn off the broadcast sound when you are called on to speak.
Write
Send your comment to OpenTime@minneapolisparks.org by 12 pm on Nov. 17.
The meeting will be viewable live via webcast and TV options. Meeting video is also posted to the 2021 MPRB Meetings Playlist on YouTube after the meeting concludes.
Project Background
The MPRB and City of Minneapolis have been working with community members to create a plan to redevelop the former Upper Harbor Terminal (UHT) site since the closure of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam ended barge traffic to the site in spring 2015.
The MPRB is moving forward with plans for a 20-acre park at the 53-acre site and has roughly $8 million budgeted for the first round of park improvements. The concept published today was created after more than 100 meetings, tours and other public events to listen to Northside community members about their aspirations and concerns about developing the site.
The engagement process focused on reaching people where they are, through multiple ways of communication and methods of engagement, at a range of events and locations. Please see the Community Engagement tab on the Upper Harbor Terminal Regional Park project page for notes and details about the community engagement process up to this point.
The City of Minneapolis is planning redevelopment of the site not occupied by the upcoming regional park. Please visit upperharbormpls.com for updates and information on the City’s redevelopment plans for the rest of the site.
Park Design Principles
- Begin with a park design that is “just green enough” to counteract the possibility of green gentrification
- Design a park that is flexible and adaptable to future changes
- Develop a park design that can be deliberately programmed and activated to support the needs and desires of the north Minneapolis communities
- Ensure the park design meets the requirements to secure future regional park funding
Park Design Priorities
- Improve ecological systems along the River
- Opportunities for public art and cultural communications
- Places for interpretation and learning
- Stormwater management and improved habitat areas
- Opportunities for green job creation, public science and programming focused on creation of green skills
- The option of a variety of indoor spaces (temporary indoor space, space shared within a redevelopment building, or a permanent public building on park land)
Site History
The Upper Harbor site was part of the huge area that was taken from the Dakota people by the U.S. Government through the 1851 treaties at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. A Native American Context Statement and Reconnaissance Level Survey Supplement report was completed in 2016. This study indicated that a Native American trail along the River went through or past the UHT site; no other known site connections to Native American history were highlighted in the report.
Uses prior to development of the site as a barge terminal included lumber yards and mills and, later, commercial gardens. The portion of the site between Washington Avenue and I-94 had included some homes and small commercial/industrial structures before being acquired and cleared by the Minnesota Department of Transportation for construction of I-94. The cleared parcels subsequently were conveyed to the City as excess highway right-of-way and added to the UHT site.
Between 1968 and 1987, the Upper Harbor Terminal was developed as an inter-modal barge shipping terminal located at almost the head of commercial navigation on the Mississippi River. The barge terminal remained in operation until the end of 2014 when barging ceased due to the planned closure of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in spring of 2015. The site operation then shifted to interim use to store commodities that are trucked to and from the site.