Neighborhood Context

While Minneapolis, the Twin Cities region and the state of Minnesota rate well on almost all metrics of success, that success has not spread equally to its residents of color. Work is now underway at all levels of government, with the active involvement of the nonprofit and business communities, to address these inequities and “close the gap.”

This includes the designation of the North Minneapolis area in which the UHT site is located as a federal “Promise Zone” where a comprehensive, community-driven revitalization strategy is building on and aligning numerous initiatives to address the persistent unemployment, crime, housing blight, and poor educational outcomes that plague the area.

Most of the UHT site also is located within the Northern Green Zone. The goal of this initiative is to address the environmental justice overburden in North and Northeast Minneapolis and to design and implement a plan of action to improve environmental and population health, and social, economic and environmental justice.

Given its size and key riverfront location, the redevelopment of the UHT site offers the opportunity to positively impact North Minneapolis through the provision of a major new regional park amenity as well as adjacent private development that will benefit the community. Careful consideration will be given to seeking to pursue positive redevelopment in a manner that will not displace existing area residents.

Recent public and private investments along the Mississippi River in North and Northeast Minneapolis in accordance with the Above the Falls Master Plan include: