Category Archives: Downtown East Park

Essential, Illegal, Misbegotten or Misunderstood? Ready or Not, Downtown Minneapolis’ ‘Commons’ is Set to Open


The following article by Peter Callaghan was published in the July 21, 2016 edition of Minnpost.

Essential, Illegal, Misbegotten or Misunderstood? Ready or Not, Downtown Minneapolis’ ‘Commons’ is Set to Open

Downtown East Commons park
MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan

The 4.2-acre park is wedged among a giant new stadium, a new apartment building, two new office buildings and the historic Armory.

The Downtown East Commons park in downtown Minneapolis gets an official opening Thursday, which will include — of course — a ceremonial tossing of the first Frisbee.

There will be speeches that will praise the park, as well as its designers and builders. Then the grassy fields and hardscaped areas will host its first event: an outdoor celebration, complete with food trucks, an Asian dance team and free yoga classes. (The event will go from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the opening programming beginning at noon.)

But what this 4.2-acre park — wedged among a giant new stadium, a new apartment building, two new office buildings and the historic Armory — might want more than anything is to be loved, to be understood. From its inception nearly three years ago, after all, the park has been the subject of debate and derision. Who would run it? Who would pay for it? Was it public or private or somewhere in between — the worst of both worlds?

To continue reading, click on the link to Minnpost

Essential, illegal, misbegotten or misunderstood? Ready or not, downtown Minneapolis’ ‘Commons’ is set to open

Join Us for the Grand Opening Celebration of The Commons

Commons park photo

Join Us for the Grand Opening Celebration of The Commons

Thursday, July 21, 2016
11:30am-1:00pm
East Side of the Park.

Join us for a short program with City officials plus performances by Asian Dance Team. The event will also feature food trucks, free yoga by Core Power Yoga, and other activities.

*Program starts at noon.

For additional information visit www.CommonsMpls.com.

Commons park photo

For reasonable accommodations or alternative formats please contact Rose Lindsay in the department of Community Planning and Economic Development.

People who are deaf or hard of hearing can use a relay service to call 311 at 612-673-3000.

TTY users can call 612-673-2157 or 612-673-2626.

Para asistencia 612-673-2700, Rau kev pab 612-673-2800, Hadii aad Caawimaad u baahantahay 612-673-3500.

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Minneapolis Purchases the Commons Park Near U.S. Bank Stadium

The following article by Eric Roper was published in the July 1, 2016 edition of the Star Tribune.

Minneapolis Purchases the Commons Park Near U.S. Bank Stadium

 

Minneapolis became the owner of a brand-new downtown park this week, three years after city leaders announced plans to reshape the area around U.S. Bank Stadium.

 

To continue reading, click on the link to the Star Tribune

 

Minneapolis Buys Stadium

The following article by Mark Reilly was published in the July 1, 2016 issue of Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Minneapolis Buys Stadium

Minneapolis has paid $20 million for the nearly opened Downtown East Commons park near U.S. Bank Stadium. Now there’s just the question on how to keep paying for it.

To continue reading, click on the link to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2016/07/01/minneapolis-buys-stadium-area-park-funding-still.html?ana=e_me_set1&s=newsletter&ed=2016-07-01&u=XeWprlMr6yGvo%2BcK4TmHRA0a588b69&t=1467380408&j=74512622

 

Downtown Minneapolis Group to Temporarily Manage East Commons Park After Summer Opening

The following article by Peter Callaghan was published in the May 6, 2016 issue of MinnPost.

Downtown Minneapolis Group to Temporarily Manage East Commons Park After Summer Opening

A view of the Commons, looking southeast toward U.S. Bank Stadium.
MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan

A view of the Commons, looking southeast toward U.S. Bank Stadium.

When the patch of Minneapolis known as the East Commons park opens sometime this summer, it likely will be managed by an entity personified by the greenish-yellow clad “ambassadors” who populate downtown.

The city plans to contract with the Downtown Improvement District to manage the park when it opens sometime this summer, which officials hope happens in time for the first events at the new Vikings Stadium.

The DID, which provides cleaning, maintenance and security in downtown (paid for via assessments on the area’s businesses), will provide similar tasks for the park through the end of 2016. After that, the city hopes to have reached a permanent deal for the park’s maintenance with the nonprofit Green Minneapolis, which is handling fundraising for the project.

Designed by San Francisco-based Hargreaves Associates, the park that will open this summer will include most of the features planned for the final version of the project, including what will be called the Great Lawn on the eastern block of the park. Missing will be a restaurant pavilion, a water plaza and some terracing. Yet it will be much more than what was once planned to be ready for the stadium opening.

To continue reading, click on the link to MinnPost

Downtown Minneapolis group to temporarily manage East Commons …

Why is the Downtown East Commons Park Such a Tough Sell?

The following article by Lee Schafer was published in the January 26, 2016 edition of the Star Tribune.

Why is the Downtown East Commons Park Such a Tough Sell?

1-29-16

 Hargreaves Associates and the City of Minneapolis

It’s going to take $22 million in donated money to fully realize the plan for the Downtown East Commons park, envisioned as the kind of civic jewel that should inspire the generosity of the corporate community.

There are enough Fortune 500 public companies in the state, along with giants like privately held Cargill and Ireland-based Medtronic, that a million bucks from each would wrap up this campaign pretty quickly.

Well, that was wishful thinking.

The organization in charge of the fundraising for the Downtown East Commons, called Green Minneapolis, this month announced that it had raised not quite half of what’s needed to complete the project, including some money for operations. And some of the more ambitious features of the park’s design have been put on hold.

To continue reading, click on the link to the Star Tribune

Why is the Downtown East Commons park such a tough sell?

Business Donations Help New Downtown Park Get Halfway to $22M Goal

The following article by Kristen Leigh Painter was published in the January 13, 2016 issue of the Star Tribune.

Business Donations Help New Downtown Park Get Halfway to $22M Goal

Some of the Twin Cities’ most recognizable corporations have kicked in to build the new park on the east end of downtown Minneapolis, helping to get the project about halfway to its financial goal, fundraisers said Tuesday.

The two-block park, called the Commons, is the hallmark of the Downtown East redevelopment project near the new U.S. Bank Stadium. But it has been challenging to pull together because of questions about funding and maintenance.

To continue reading, click on the link to the StarTribune

Business donations help new downtown park get halfway to …

Several Commons’ Features Put on Hold for Park’s Debut

The following article by Sarah McKenzie, updated on January 25, 2016, was published in the Southwest Journal.

Several Commons’ Features Put on Hold for Park’s Debut

Image courtesy of Hargreaves Associates
An illustration of the Commons park, which will open this summer.
Not all planned features, however, will be ready when the park opens.

A number of design elements planned for the Commons park next to the Vikings stadium will
not be part of the project’s first phase when it opens this summer given the pace of fundraising
for the project.

To date, fundraisers have raised $10.5 million for the 4.2-acre Downtown East park — nearly 50 percent of their goal. The total includes an additional $2 million from the Vikings, bringing the team’s total contribution to $3 million.

Two buildings, terraces along the park’s Great Lawn and the wet plaza feature envisioned for the park by designer Hargreaves Associates will be put on hold until additional funding becomes available, according to a report to the City Council’s Community Planning & Regulatory Services Committee.
Continue reading

Stadium Park Runs into a Funding Crunch

The following article by Eric Roper was published in the online edition of the Star Tribune on January 15, 2016 and in the print edition on January 16.

Stadium Park Runs into a Funding Crunch

A rendering of the proposed Commons park, including one of the structures and the water plaza that may be deferred.

Several elements of a downtown Minneapolis park beside the Vikings stadium will likely be put on ice until more private money rolls into an ongoing fundraising effort.

A proposal unveiled Friday to hold off on the construction of two buildings, lawn-side terraces and a water plaza signaled a note of caution in the city’s goals to construct a unique attraction in an up-and-coming corner of downtown. The park matter has taken on growing urgency at City Hall, since a preliminary version of the space will open this summer.

The new plan to delay elements of the project is slated for an initial vote by the City Council next week.

To continue reading, click on the link to the Star Tribune
http://m.startribune.com/vikings-stadium-park-scaled-back-due-to-funding-crunch/365443331/

Vikings Will Help Pay for Park Near New Stadium

The following article by Kristen Leigh Painter and Rochelle Olson was published in the Minneapolis StarTribune on December 15, 2015

 

Vikings Will Help Pay for Park Near New Stadium



           Hargreaves Associates and the City of Minneapolis

Rendering of the park with a view to the new Vikings stadium Downtown East Commons

Rendering of the park with a view to the new Vikings stadium Downtown East Commons

The Minnesota Vikings are nearing terms for a donation to the new Commons park in downtown Minneapolis, which is still less than halfway funded.

The team, which helped pay for the land for the park near its new stadium, will also contribute to its construction, Vikings Executive Vice President Lester Bagley said Monday during a meeting of the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Sports Facilities. He said the team would ask some of its partners to help pay for the park, too.

Terms of an agreement between the Vikings and Green Minneapolis, the conservancy organization charged with park fundraising, are likely to be finalized this week. A source familiar with the discussions said the team will contribute $2 million. The Vikings and the conservancy declined to discuss specifics.


To continue reading, click on the link to the StarTribune

http://m.startribune.com/vikings-will-help-pay-for-park-near-new-stadium/362072871/