River Learning Center

 

The River Learning Center is a unique opportunity to combine resources, expertise and capacity at a signature, strategic destination in the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

The project is a forward thinking, mixed-use, river-focused center. Our vision includes a headquarters for the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and year-round environmental, cultural and historical programming, outdoor recreation experiences, scientific research, community café, and a marina along Saint Paul’s river edge.

The River Learning Center will be home to the National Park Service’s Mississippi River Headquarters and Visitor Center and offer year-round programming. From boat rentals and community spaces to day camps and a riverside café, the River Learning Center will provide outdoor recreation, environmental learning, and public connections to the river while sharing the culture, history, and ecology of the river.

Mississippi Park Connection is building awareness and support for this exciting opportunity to increase visibility of the national park and connect more people to the river in Saint Paul.

Mississippi Park Connection and the Great River Passage Conservancy signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly raise funds for the project’s schematic design phase. This will help us visualize and share potential designs for the building and grounds.

We are asking the public to stay up-to-date with project milestones and learn more about how to get involved by joining our email list.

The Project

  • Create the next generation of park users and river stewards

  • Transform what is now a strategic but underutilized, isolated edge of Saint Paul to an accessible regional center of activity

  • Leverage the Mississippi River, the naturalized urban location, and public and private partnerships to stimulate economic development and act as a catalyst for future strategic development to improve quality of life for the community and health of the river

Project Benefits

Economic

Create jobs in design, construction, maintenance and operations, education, recreation, food, and marine services. Develop strategic partnerships for revenue-generating opportunities and cost sharing. Leverage public dollars for private investment.

Health and Wellness

Develop year-round environmental, cultural and historical education and recreation opportunities that are integrated into the community and region’s routines, traditions and collective identity. Cultivate a constituency that values the river and will care for it in the future.

Identity

Minnesota’s identity and well-being is inextricably linked to the Mississippi River. The River Learning Center is an opportunity to:

  • build on the history and interconnectedness to the river,

  • create an authentic, signature destination that positions the state nationally and internationally,

  • improve the quality of life for residents and visitors

Accomplishments to Date

  • Securing public and private support for the River Learning Center (2017)

  • Completing technical study (2017) and feasibility analysis (2018)

  • Compiling a programming survey that includes year-round program offerings, partners and space needs (2019)

  • Launching Mississippi Park Connection/Great River Passage Conservancy co-fundraising partnership and campaign (2019)

  • Signing a General Agreement outlining the City and National Park Service partnership in pursuit of the project (January 2020)

Updates:

January 2020

Governor Tim Walz included the River Learning Center in his bonding proposal to the Minnesota Legislature. Mississippi Park Connection is working with the National Park Service to develop public programming. With support from the City of Saint Paul, the Great River Passage Conservancy is seeking $3 million in bonding for the project, including schematic design. The Governor’s support of this project is critical as we move into the next phase of building this regional asset, which will serve as a connection to the Mississippi River.

 
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