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Hargreaves unveils Downtown East Commons, a park in the shadow of the Minnesota Vikings

Hargreaves unveils Downtown East Commons, a park in the shadow of the Minnesota Vikings

Last year Minneapolis broke ground on a major mixed-use development centered around a park next to the under-construction stadium that will house the Minnesota Vikings football team. Now dubbed “The Commons,” the 4.2-acre park was the subject of a public meeting last week, at which its design came into clearer focus.

Designed by San Francisco‘s Hargreaves Associates, the site has a lot going on, in the words of MinnPost’s Marlys Harris: “a café, promenades, a Great Lawn, a lesser lawn, a water feature, play areas for kids, a stage, garden-y places, trees (of course), places to compete at bocce and chess, kiosks, an ice rink in winter, tables with umbrellas, moveable chairs, public art and benches and terraces where public snogging could occur.”

It will also accommodate fan festivals and other Vikings-related events on game days. Hargreaves fielded a reported 2,750 survey responses while designing the park, whose budget is projected at $22 million. Only a small portion of that has been raised, and public officials have said the space will be financed by private donations.

As public discussion of the democratically designed space continues, budget adjustments may align with Harris’ call “to survey the public on what they could live without.” One remaining question is whether Portland Avenue, which currently bisects the park site, will remain open to automobile traffic.


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