New park opens along Mississippi riverfront in Northeast Minneapolis

Six years in the making, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation officially opened a new, nine-acre riverside park in the Northeast neighborhood.

Graco Park has been in development since 2018, with construction starting last August. The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) announced on Wednesday that its first phase is complete and now open to the public.

The park, located north of the Plymouth Avenue Bridge between Boom Island Park and Graco Inc. headquarters, features trails and walkways, a river landing, public art, picnic tables, and gathering spaces surrounded by hundreds of new trees and native plants. An outdoor stage has also been added for events or performances, with a slopped grass area for seating.

It is the latest addition to the riverfront in the north of Minneapolis. Two other new riverfront parks, Water Works and the 26th Avenue North Overlook, opened in 2021. Earlier this year, the MPRB opened a new 20-acre park at the Upper Harbor redevelopment and a trail connection between the 26th Avenue North Overlook and Ole Olson Park.

"If we’re going to have a truly equitable park system, residents of Northeast and North Minneapolis must be able to enjoy thoughtfully designed access to the Mississippi Riverfront," said MPRB Superintendent Al Bangoura. "This is something that we’ve advocated for and worked on for decades, and now these parks are no longer just ideas, plans, or illustrations; they’re real. We’re in the middle of a golden era of riverfront park development in Minneapolis."

The next phase of Graco Park's development includes a 4,000-square-foot park building called The River Hub, which is scheduled to open in 2025, and a trail under the Plymouth Avenue Bridge connecting it to Boom Island Park.

According to MPRB, the River Hub will be a central area where people can enjoy the Mississippi River, offering environmental education, youth employment, performances, and events supporting the local arts community.

Some plans for the future building include a Spark’d Studios location with a recording studio, a performance workshop that leads to an outdoor stage, a conference room, and a geothermal energy system.

The building will be considered "Net Zero," consuming only as much power as can be generated onsite by clean, renewable resources.

“Opening Graco Park is a monumental milestone in our ongoing, decades-long mission to transition Minneapolis’ northern riverfront to a world-class attraction that’s more welcoming to people and wildlife,” said MPRB President Meg Forney.

"We’re incredibly grateful to have a network of partners and neighbors like Graco who believe in our park system and support ambitious plans to restore our natural resources and offer outstanding trails and recreation opportunities."

The new park is being partially funded by the Graco Foundation, which donated over $3 million to MPRB, while the parks board also sold 2.2 acres of land to Graco next to its production facility for $1.1 million. A grant was also awarded by the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) to fund native vegetations, habitat restoration, and stormwater infiltration.