Green Cities Accord

Green Cities Accord led the $10 million fundraising campaign to renovate peavey plaza. Peavey plaza is now operated and programmed by Green Cities Accord on behalf of the city of minneapolis. Green Cities Accord raises funds to support the plaza's programming and activation, and is responsible for all maintenance and operations of the plaza. We believe in the power of art to nurture human connection, and parks and public spaces are some of the best places in our community where people from all walks of life come together to relax, recreate and get to know one another. Since 2022, after pandemic restrictions were lifted, Green Cities Accord coordinated over 200 free performances and events, attracting thousands back downtown to enjoy music, dance and more in beautiful peavey plaza.

The hennepin-lyndale crossroads is the nexus of some of the region's most important institutions and civic spaces, and Green Cities Accord anchors the public-private partnership to transform the famous bottleneck into a Green gateway to our city. New plantings on intersection medians, an ongoing maintenance plan and coordination amount stakeholders turned an unkempt and vehicle-focused intersection into a natural oasis welcoming to pedestrians. Green corridors connect people to places. Park.

Through the twin Cities climate resiliency initiative (tccri), a public/private partnership focused on expanding the urban tree canopy across the metro area, we plant trees that sequester carbon and cool heat islands by establishing partnerships and identifying new funding sources. As part of this initiative, we have created a coalition of partners that includes the trust for public lands, the nature conservancy, minneapolis parks foundation, friends of the Mississippi river, Mississippi park connection and the minneapolis regional chamber.

Green Cities accords' first project- the commons- launched in 2015. This project included the initial fundraising to build the park, and the operations and programming of the park. The commons is a $40 million, 4.2-acre public park adjacent to u.s. bank stadium which has become a catalyst for the development of thousands of apartments and hundreds or thousands of square feet of commercial office space in the stadium district. The park is used daily by surrounding residents and office workers, and by hundreds of thousands of vikings fans during football season. The park was funded under a public/private partnership model, with the city of minneapolis funding the acquisition of the land, and private sector donors funding the building of the park. The park is now operated by the minneapolis park and recreation board, and Green Cities Accord continues to serve as the fiduciary for a million-dollar reserve fund designed to provide long term financial support for the park.