Upper Harbor Terminal Redevelopment Project
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A massive new amphitheater is coming to Minneapolis on the Mississippi riverfront.
Last month, local and state officials joined Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on the city’s North Side to celebrate the Minneapolis City Council’s approval of plans to fund and construct a more than 8,000-seat amphitheater.
The new Community Performing Arts Center—which will be built on the north Minneapolis riverfront and jointly run by First Avenue, the Minnesota Orchestra, and the African American Community Development Corporation—is one part of a $350 million redevelopment of the former industrial Upper Harbor Terminal site, which began back in 2015 and is set to continue for at least a few more years. Here’s what to know about the multi-year redevelopment.
What is the Upper Harbor Terminal Redevelopment project?
The Upper Harbor Redevelopment is a project forged in partnership between the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board that aims to bring new opportunities to north Minneapolis. By connecting the city’s North Side with the Mississippi riverfront, the project will create “a large-scale, public-owned, community-building asset” and is “grounded in a restorative approach toward racial justice,” according to the project’s website.
“The Upper Harbor Terminal is more than a development, it’s a long-term investment in North Minneapolis,” city council member LaTrisha Vetaw says in a statement. “This project creates real jobs, builds community wealth, and opens doors for residents who have historically been left out of major economic opportunities. I am proud to help bring this vision to life and ensure that Northside families benefit from every phase of this project.”
The project is a $350 million investment, including $20 million in funds from the city.
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What’s the history behind the Upper Harbor Terminal?
The Upper Harbor Terminal site is a 48-acre parcel of land owned by the City of Minneapolis, and located on the Mississippi River in north Minneapolis. The site was originally on the land of the Dakota people until it was taken by the United States government with the 1851 treaties at Traverse des Sioux and Mendota. In the late 1800s, the site was developed with a lumber mill that operated until the mid-1900s, and it was used for agricultural purposes or remained generally undeveloped from the early 1900s through the 1960s.
From 1968 through 1987, the city developed the site as the Upper Harbor Terminal—an intermodal barge shipping terminal that remained in operation until 2014, when barge traffic ceased due to the planned closure of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock in 2015 driven by fears of invasive carp pushing farther north up the river. By then, there had already been talk of redevelopment on the riverfront for decades, but the closure was the springboard for actualizing project plans.
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What changes will come to the site once the project is finished?
So far, most of the buzz has been about the Community Performing Arts Center, which is expected to see the beginning of construction this fall. The venue will host around 50 ticketed events each year, with $3 from each ticket going towards North Side community development projects, through a partnership with the African American Community Development Corporation, who will manage and distribute the funds. According to Frey, the amphitheater is a “generational investment,” promoting social and economic initiatives that will bring positive change to the neighborhood and strengthen the community through the arts.
The city adds, in a statement, that the building of the Community Performing Arts Center will create around 500 temporary jobs, and once completed, amphitheater operations will employ about 250 people. The venue will begin hosting its first events in 2027.
Aside from the new outdoor music venue, residents can expect to see a 20-acre riverfront park, affordable rental and ownership housing options for current residents, a health and wellness center, and 300 living-wage jobs upon the project’s completion.
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What’s already been done?
After the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock closed in 2015, the city entered the first phase of its project centered around envisioning how to redevelop the site. Over the next few years, north Minneapolis residents were invited to offer input and share their ideas for the space through a variety of engagement opportunities, including in-person and online open houses, community meetings, and events; participation in focus groups and advisory committees; and online surveys.
As conversations with residents began to reveal the main priorities and values among residents—including affordable housing, community ownership, and economic inclusion—the Upper Harbor Terminal Collaborative Planning Committee (which has since dissolved) formed in 2019 to advise the city and development team. A concept plan was devised and approved by the city council that same year, and the coordinated plan was approved a couple years later in 2021.
In 2022, the project transitioned into its construction phase, with a focus on preparing the site for redevelopment with demolition and soil work, as well as work on public infrastructure and parks. That part of the construction is slated to go through the end of 2025.
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What’s the rest of the project’s timeline?
The performing arts center is the next phase of the redevelopment, and construction is set to begin this fall once infrastructure and road work in the area has been completed, according to a statement from the city. From 2025 until completion, construction will also focus on mixed-use affordable housing and living-wage jobs.
The second part of construction is set to begin in 2027, with a continued emphasis on living-wage jobs, as well as the prioritization of mixed-use housing developments.
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