Minneapolis opens new Graco Park along Mississippi River in northeast
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A new park has opened in northeast Minneapolis featuring walking paths, a riverside landing, picnic tables and hundreds of native plants.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board partnered with Graco Inc. and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization on the project.
Graco Park is named after the company, which is located right next to the property north of the Plymouth Avenue bridge near Boom Island Park.
“This is another monumental milestone in our ongoing, decades-long mission to transition Minneapolis’ northern riverfront to being fully accessible,” said board president Meg Forney.
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She said Graco Park is part of a bigger vision to turn the city’s northern riverfront into a string of continuous parks.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board purchased the land from the Sherer Brothers Lumber company in 2010 with the intentions to rehabilitate the land, Minneapolis parks superintendent Al Bangoura said. In that time frame, the board was able to restore Hall’s Island and its ecosystem.
The island is located directly across from Graco Park.
A building located in the park will provide space for an incoming dance company and a public-use creative studio set to open in 2025.
Bangoura said it’s “where young people can come to a space and use their creative imaginations.”
The park also features geothermal heated sidewalks, which will prevent ice and keep the salt that is often used during Minnesota winters out of the water.
There are plans to connect Graco Park’s riverfront to Boom Island Park’s trail under the Plymouth Avenue Bridge.
