“An interesting construction challenge will be for us to develop, implement and manage the details surrounding all of the utilities, various site conditions, site structures and other features for this Class A venue within a fairly tight site,” says Bernard Furlow, President/CEO of Zuri Construction. “It took a lot of heavy coordination time prior to construction to make sure we provide our clients and ultimately the North Minneapolis community with flexibility during the wide range of events planned.”

Other firms involved in the amphitheater project include NTH, a real estate and project management firm, and LES Architects, both in Minneapolis.

The overall investment—including $20 million from the city—is planned to reconnect North Minneapolis to the Mississippi River and will include affordable housing, a health and wellness hub and 20 acres of riverside parkland.

Plans also call for a seven-story apartment building with 190 units, commercial space and 20 townhomes for sale and the park spanning about a mile of the riverfront, including separate bike and pedestrian trails, a new road with parking and a naturalized shoreline.

A riverfront park extending along the Mississippi River part of redevelopment plans in Minneapolis. 
Rendering courtesy of the City of Minneapolis

Five acres will serve as the park’s entrance and connect Dowling Avenue to the riverfront. It will feature a central open plaza and lawn with several picnic shelters and is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of different events.

Native trees, grasses, woody shrubs and perennials will be planted throughout the park. The project also includes large-scale stormwater treatment and riverbank restoration, including a river overlook, with much of this work to be done in partnership with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization.

Between 1968 and 2014, Minneapolis developed and operated the Upper Harbor Terminal as an intermodal barge shipping facility. The site served as a hub where goods were transferred between barges, trains and trucks. 

The property is being redeveloped by the city in partnership with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board and a group of local developers with additional investments from the state and the federal government.

“For generations the north side has been separated from one of its more vital assets by a massive highway and a whole lot of heavy industrialization,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey at a press conference. “Young kids on the north side may not even have known there was a river front there because they couldn’t touch it. They couldn’t get to it.”