Urban agriculture transformation planned in East Phillips neighborhood, 2021
Hennepin County is working with the Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) to transform two vacant lots owned by the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) near the Midtown Greenway into an urban farm and community gathering place.
NACDI will operate the Four Sisters Farm on the site to provide access to fresh healthy foods and serve as a learning environment for indigenous farming, medicine, and lifeways.
The project site is located along East 29th Street between 16th and 18th Avenues South near the Midtown Greenway in the East Philips neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Construction and implementation are to take place in spring and summer of 2021. Improvements will include tree plantings, water installation, walkways, raised beds, and hardscape upgrades for better site circulation, and public art.
View the site concept (PDF).
Get involved
The project team gathered community input at an initial project kick-off event October 12, 2020, at the project site, with social distancing and masks required. Additionally, community members provided feedback in an online survey, available in English, Spanish and Somali. Community members expressed overwhelming support for, and interest in, the project.
View the community engagement summary (PDF).
Community members are invited to share ideas and participate. For more information, to get involved, or to share feedback, please contact Crystal Myslajek at crystal.myslajek@hennepin.us.
In 2019, Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) conducted a Community Safety Design Study to identify possible preventive and equitable safety improvements to the Midtown Greenway within HCRRA’s purview. During the course of the study, HCRRA and county staff participated in over 30 meetings with a wide range of stakeholders. The study was rooted in a landscape design approach and the resulting report presents a menu of landscape design, maintenance and operations recommendations to improve safety and create a welcoming environment for all community members.
View the Midtown Greenway Community Safety Design Study (PDF).
Since the conclusion of the study, HCRRA has already taken or plans to implement several measures adapted from the Community Safety Design study. These measures respond to maintenance and safety needs, and support the county’s goals of addressing racial disparities and ending homelessness.
Study highlights
Hennepin County Security
Plan and steps include daily patrolling by unarmed officers trained in de-escalation, relationship building, emergency response, administering Narcan, and crisis intervention with an emphasis on mental health.
Four Sisters Urban Farm
This project with Native American Community Development Institute aims to transform excess HCRRA property into a site for community health and food access.
Regional trail designation
Designation will bring additional resources through Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board trail operations support.
Landscape improvements
These include low-mow planting pilot, additional trash cans, and treatments under bridges.
Safety improvements at intersections
Several intersections were improved this summer with more visible crosswalk markings, pedestrian ramps, and other treatments.
Other measures
- New code-of-conduct signs with list of user responsibilities and prohibited activities posted throughout the corridor.
- Continuous monitoring through coordination and communication with stakeholders.
General info
The Greenway runs for 6 miles in a historic railroad trench beneath bridged streets in south Minneapolis, which makes biking or walking along it a distinctive experience. The Sensible Land Use Coalition named the Midtown Greenway a Great Place in 2014, and USA Today called it a Top Urban Bike Path in 2013. It is also key part of the regional transportation and bikeway network, linking Uptown, the Midtown Global Market and an array of other retail and cultural destinations between the Mississippi River and the Chain of Lakes. Annually, more than 1.5 million people take advantage of this flat, easy, mostly car-free east-west route across the city.
History
The Midtown Corridor was constructed in the 1910's as a freight rail corridor. With the decline of rail service, however, by the mid-1990's the corridor had become a neglected place that was attracting crime and contributing to lower land values, disinvestment, and blight in nearby neighborhoods. In 1995, Hennepin County identified the Midtown corridor as a priority area for its new community works initiative. After an extensive planning effort, the Greenway was constructed in three phases between 1999 and 2006. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and in 2007, the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge opened, linking the Greenway over Hiawatha Avenue.
Visit the Midtown Greenway Coalition website for more information.
Midtown Greenway inducted into national Rail-to-Trail Hall of Fame
In September 2015, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy announced that the Midtown Greenway had joined a select group of trails on the national Rail-to-Trail Hall of Fame. Trails are honored on merits such as scenic value, high use, trail and trailside amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance of facility, community connections and geographic distribution. Read more about the award and the greenway in the October 16 TrailBlog.