Minneapolis Park Board considers scaling back North Commons project

An ambitious $49 million plan to transform north Minneapolis' flagship neighborhood park into a regional youth sports destination may be out of reach, Park Board commissioners have learned.

The North Commons Park makeover has been counting on $12 million in state bonding funds, and the Park Board ranked the project as its top legislative priority this session. But so far lawmakers are not supporting additional funding for the Minneapolis park system.

The reconstruction project calls for a new recreation center, a fieldhouse with four gyms and a large water park. Since the Park Board launched the project in 2019, it has rounded up $12 million from state, federal and local sources, along with a potential $10 million in private donations from the Minneapolis Parks Foundation.

Staffers now are seeking guidance from the board on three possible directions: a modest renovation and expansion of the existing 1970s-era recreation center for $22 million, to be completed by early 2025; unearthing more public funding for a larger renovation and expansion of park facilities, for $35 million; or delaying the project indefinitely until $30 million to $35 million in additional public funding can be found for the original $49 million vision.

The first option would result in the largest recreation center in the Minneapolis park system, but provide only two new gyms and a small water park — falling short of community hopes and Park Superintendent Al Bangoura's 2020 promise to create a rec center that would rival suburban facilities and could host regional tournaments.

The second option would include three new gyms and a medium-sized water park, but could jeopardize $5.1 million in state bonding that the Park Board has already received and $3 million in COVID-19 relief funds that came with spending deadlines.

If the Park Board decides to delay the project to obtain at least $30 million in additional public funding, it would likely have to return the public funding it already has with no guarantees that it would reach the goals of the project or even complete it. But community and private donors might be more likely to rally around the bigger vision.

Park Board members debated which way to go at their meeting Wednesday. Commissioner Becka Thompson, who represents the North Side district that includes North Commons, said state Sen. Bobby Joe Champion advised her Tuesday to "build something with the money you already have." He could not be reached for comment.

"It is my opinion that the neighborhood deserves to see us finish what we started," Thompson said, arguing for the first option, the $22 million project. "I know that staff still want something grand and I know that many neighbors do also. But this project increasingly shows itself to be Zeno's paradox — if each step is halfway there, ultimately we never arrive."

Other commissioners urged staffers to keep seeking bonding this session and to apply for other sources of public funding in the future.

"Maybe there's been a little hype around other things since our project started," said Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer, referring to the $97 million aquatic and sports center being built by Minneapolis nonprofit V3 not far from North Commons Park at Plymouth and Lyndale avenues. "I don't think we should give up on it, but at the same time, be really strategic about how we use our funds."

Board President Meg Forney suggested finding ways to start using some of the public money the board already has for the project to avoid losing it entirely, while pursuing all remaining possibilities to construct a larger building. "Closing the doors at this point in time, I couldn't support it," she said.

Design project manager Dan Elias said staffers could try to create preferred concepts based on different project budgets that could be adjusted depending on whatever additional public and private funding might be found.