Category: Saint Paul, Ramsey County, Featured
RiversEdge is an innovative public-private project that creates jobs, revitalizes our capital city’s historic riverfront and expands direct public access to one of Minnesota’s greatest natural resources – the Mississippi River. The interwoven pieces of public park, office space and housing can position the region as a place where Minnesotans want to stay and where professionals from around the country want to move.
AECOM has proposed a roughly $800 million development that represents a once-in-a-century opportunity to transform an urban tract of land into a welcoming, mixed-use experience for all Minnesotans. The first of four towers is slated to include residential housing, with future spaces programmable based on market-driven demand. The development will bring a significant influx of long-term residents to downtown Saint Paul, who will be within walking distance of locally owned shops, restaurants, performing arts centers, higher education institutions and places of worship.
Features:
- Phased construction of Class A office and residential space, and street-level retail, entertainment and hospitality.
- A nine-acre urban park perched on a land bridge over Shepard Road and the adjacent railway, extending from downtown Saint Paul directly to the Mississippi River and doubling the usable area of the site.
- Integrated public spaces including the first section of the city’s proposed River Balcony, a river-level esplanade, and an amphitheater and bandshell overlooking the river.
- New roadway connections to the site and supplemental parking.
- A minimum of $5 million contribution from the developer to affordable housing, which would be used to expand housing options in Saint Paul.
The Park at RiversEdge
The Park at RiversEdge is a nine-acre urban park that will create a new, dynamic connection to downtown Saint Paul and the Mississippi River. By extending over the railroad and Shepard Road and connecting to the Mississippi River, the Park at RiversEdge will expand access to a national monument for residents and visitors alike, and spark millions of dollars of private investment as part of AECOM's proposed development.
On December 20, 2022, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners voted to commit $26 million to the Park at RiversEdge, the first public investment in the project. In the 2023 legislative session, Ramsey County is seeking a state investment of $26 million to the acquisition, design, furnishing and construction of the Park at RiversEdge would complete the public investment required to build the park and encourage private development that boosts jobs, tax base, and access to the park space and regional amenities. The public park space and the private development are intrinsically linked.
The Park at RiversEdge will be a signature public space and component of Saint Paul’s River Balcony, a 1.5-mile promenade along downtown Saint Paul’s Mississippi River bluff connecting public spaces, civic landmarks, and development sites, and providing new connections to the river.
Features:
- 9+ acres of new urban park space, including a dynamic community gathering space for public events.
- Expanded public access to the Mississippi River from the downtown bluff to the shoreline.
- Trails that connect people to the Mississippi River, downtown Saint Paul and other regional trail systems.
- The first section of the proposed River Balcony, acting as a catalyst for several projects along Saint Paul's riverfront.
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