North Commons Park would get largest Minneapolis rec center in renovation

North Commons Park, a neighborhood park in the heart of north Minneapolis, is scheduled for major renovations that will crown its recreational center as the largest and most expensive in the history of the Park Board.

The existing 15,385-square-foot recreation center dates to 1971. It holds a small gym that barely fits a regulation basketball court. The new rec center would be 52,000 to 58,000 square feet, more than double the size of the city's next newest and largest rec center — Northeast Park, which opened in 2018.

The North Commons makeover will cost $33 million to $49 million, exceeding initial budget estimates of $22 million in part due to rising construction costs.

"This is the largest investment ever in the history of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board," said Superintendent Al Bangoura. "Space includes ... the fieldhouse, a large flexible indoor space for athletics and tournaments and many other types of events, and it will be the only building of its kind in the park system."

The Park Board received $5 million in state bonding in 2020 after the superintendent and community activists flaunted visions of a regional youth recreation hub to rival suburban sports complexes. The idea is to bring tournaments, tourism and pride to the North Side while neighboring North High School and the West Broadway business corridor undergo simultaneous transformations.

The four concepts

The Park Board hosted a first look at four construction concepts Tuesday night at North Commons, each of which would increase the number of basketball courts to four and include concessions, a teen room and a community kitchen.

Two of the concepts propose preserving and expanding the existing rec center for a maximum two-story building at a cost of about $35 million, which could meet the completion schedule by the end of 2025. They include dedicated senior and art studio space.

Two other concepts demolish and replace the current center with all new construction. They could feature three stories, a flexible classroom, dedicated preschool room and a walking track around a sunken gym. These would cost roughly $49 million. More private fundraising would be required before staff could commit to a construction schedule, said Adam Arvidson, parks director of strategic planning.

The North Service Area Master Plan, adopted in 2019, called for a brand new building and enhanced amenities for the North Side's flagship neighborhood park. But when cost projections eclipsed Park Board's expectations, staff came up with the two sets of options.

"Even though one is way beyond our project budget, in the interest of full community conversation and transparency, we wanted to have both of those on the table," Arvidson said.

Neighborhood reaction

Community members and multiple Park Board commissioners digested the plans over a two-hour open house on Tuesday.

David Opp of Friends of North Commons, who has lived next to the park about 50 years, said he favored the most modest concept because he has an emotional attachment to the existing rec center and concerns about large development's propensity to aggravate gentrification. He was said he was pleased that all the concepts would limit construction to the northeast corner of the park, leaving the old trees to the south intact.

Commissioner Becka Thompson, whose district includes North Commons, agreed. A single-story rehab and expansion would be an achievable "win" for the North Side, she said. "Also ... [it] is trying to get the park completed in a timely manner for the community because we can make big promises and then nobody's there to watch the final nail go in because everything shifted and changed and the kids are grown."

Longtime youth sports coach Mike Tate is advocating for all new construction along with the north Minneapolis youth recreation organization Seeds to Harvest. A North Commons fixture for some 40 years, Tate said giving north Minneapolis kids a facility to be proud of trumps nostalgia.

"If they care so much about this building, why don't they fix the tiles?" he said, pointing up at the gymnasium ceiling where missing panels gape. "Go to Shakopee, Maple Grove ... they've all got new facilities. Why not us?"

Seeking more money

The city of Minneapolis has committed $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to the North Commons project and the Park Board is again asking the state for $6 million more in bonding this legislative session.

Board Vice President Alicia D. Smith, the only commissioner of color, said she was ruminating on overlapping concerns from North Side constituents. There are the seniors who have made a lifetime of memories in the rec center and their children's children who have bigger ideas about competitive sports, those who want big deal basketball tournaments and those who want to see more a diversity of offerings, community boosters determined to deliver a world-class facility and working parents who want someplace safe for their kids to go after school.

A two-month community feedback period is now open. Park users can find more information about the four concepts on the Park Board's website. Once the Park Board settles on a final direction, the Minneapolis Park Foundation will launch a private fundraising campaign.