Civic Group Proposes Visitor and Interpretive Center for Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam

Via an October 14 Press Release from Friends of the Lock and Dam (FL&D):

MINNEAPOLIS—October 14, 2016—St. Anthony Falls created Minneapolis. Today, the falls are the center of a revitalized riverfront and a chain of riverfront parks and trails that attract over 2 million visitors a year across the Stone Arch Bridge.

A new civic organization, Friends of the Lock and Dam (FL&D) is proposing that the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, which was closed to navigation last year, be developed into a world-class visitor and interpretive center. However, this vision is threatened by a proposal to put a hydroelectric plant at the site, preempting other uses.

On Tuesday, FL&D filed a motion before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reject a current proposal from Crown Hydro, LLC to build a hydroelectric plant at the Lock and Dam or at least order an environmental impact statement (EIS). The FERC environmental review of the Crown Hydro proposal is open to public comment until November 2.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a riverfront that is a destination landmark. It’s a site we hope to protect and preserve as a centerpiece for our community, for generations to come,” said Tom Fisher, the director of the Metropolitan Design Center at the University of Minnesota and an FL&D board member.

“If construction of the hydroelectric plant is allowed to proceed as proposed, it will negate the four decades of planning and redevelopment efforts by the City of Minneapolis, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the National Park Service,” Fisher added.

The Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam is at the center of the Minneapolis riverfront area, adjacent to the iconic Stone Arch Bridge, and in the middle of an 800-acre stretch of the Mississippi designated as a National Register Historic District. In 1988, it became part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. Over the past 20 years, the surrounding area has seen over $2 billion in public and private development.

Since the mid-1990s, Crown Hydro has made multiple proposals to construct a power plant on or near the site. In 2005, after a failed attempt to obtain a license, Crown Hydro unsuccessfully sought FERC’s help to take the parkland by eminent domain. These proposals have been strongly opposed by the City of Minneapolis, the National Park Service and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, as well as hundreds of neighborhood residents. Concerns have focused on loss of historic and cultural values, preclusion of public recreation and river access, and noise and vibration impacts from the plant’s industrial operations. 

Friends of the Lock and Dam was formed to create a community-focused initiative to explore public uses of the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam, and to ensure that the proposed hydroelectric plant does not preempt future uses for the site.  

“Crown made their proposal without communicating with the City, Park Board, National Park Service or the community,” said Paul Reyelts, a leader of the RiverFirst effort and president of FL&D. “It is at odds with the Central Mississippi Riverfront Regional Park Master Plan, adopted last year, which calls for use of the Lock and Dam as a focal point for visitors. It is simply the wrong use of this critical place.” 

FL&D is asking FERC to order a full environmental impact statement (EIS) before further consideration of the Crown Hydro proposal, or to deny it outright as inconsistent with the broader environmental and public benefit requirements for a FERC license.

The FL&D plan, called “The Falls,” is a sweeping vision for the massive 400-foot-long lock and dam structure, designed to integrate with and complement the nearby Water Works Park and the Stone Arch Bridge. Construction of Water Works Park is scheduled to begin in 2018. FL&D has presented a preliminary concept design for The Falls that preserves the character-defining elements of the Upper Lock and adds the following amenities:

• A new 7,500-square-foot visitor center in collaboration with the National Park Service, the City and Park Board
• A 50,000-square-foot interpretive center
• A new one-acre park for events with public access to the Lock and Dam
• Below-grade parking for visitors
• Restaurant and event space
• Observation decks for 360-degree public viewing of the Falls, Stone Arch Bridge and skyline
• Canoe/kayak landing and portage and bike facilities

The estimated $45 million project would be funded through a new public-private partnership. Revenues from concessions, parking and events would be used for ongoing operation and programming. FL&D has already received a pledge of $5 million from a private donor for project planning and development costs. If approved, construction is estimated to begin in the 2021-2023 timeframe in sync with the riverside phase of Water Works Park.

About Friends of the Lock and Dam

Friends of the Lock and Dam is a nonprofit organization of Twin Cities’ citizens interested in Minneapolis’ riverfront preservation and development of riverfront public amenities. Its mission is to generate broad-based public discussion around the development of the Mississippi riverfront and to share a vision for repurposing the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam as a public facility.