The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved funding for construction of a more than 8,000-seat outdoor music amphitheater on the north Minneapolis riverfront on Thursday.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed the legislation at the building site alongside representatives of First Avenue, the Minnesota Orchestra and the African American Community Development Corporation, all of which will help administer the new Community Performing Arts Center.
Frey said the Upper Harbor developments will reunite the city’s northside with the Mississippi River, which he called the “most epic river in the entire world.”
“Young kids on the northside would have lived a half mile away and maybe even have not known there was a riverfront there. Why? Because they couldn’t touch it, they couldn’t get to it,” Frey said. “Now what is beautiful is we are all flipping the script.”
First Avenue CEO Dayna Frank said the amphitheater will host more than 50 ticketed events each year. She said $3 from each ticket will go towards community development projects on the northside, which will be allocated by community partners. The first events at the amphitheater are expected to take place in 2027.
City staff estimate that construction will bring about 500 temporary jobs and that the amphitheater will employ about 250 people.
Council member LaTrisha Vetaw said the Upper Harbor project will connect northside residents to jobs, safe housing and health services.
"For far too long this community has been underserved and faced disinvestment,” Vetaw said. “This project is a step towards changing that narrative, and it shows that northside residents matter and deserve the same investment and opportunities as other parts of this city."
The 48-acre site is the former home of a barge terminal on the Mississippi River, which ceased operations in 2014. Construction on infrastructure and roads in the area is ongoing. The performing arts center is the next phase of the development. The final $350 million project will include a 20-acre riverfront park, the amphitheater, a health center and mixed-income housing.
Minneapolis community planning and economic development director Erik Hansen said funding for 520 units of housing are expected to be secured within a year, with construction being completed within three to four years.
