Residents are searching for answers from the City after a popular playground along the Loring Greenway was abruptly removed.

The Loring Greenway Playground was determined to be unsafe by the City’s Public Works department and disassembled Nov. 12, without advanced notice given to the neighborhood.

The City did inform the Loring Greenway Association, a group of volunteers that maintains the walkway between Loring Park and Nicollet Mall, less than a week before a crew took the playground down. But the initiator of the playground, Citizens for a Loring Park Community, did not get heads-up.

The Loring Greenway Playground was built 20 years ago using $60,000 in funds from the City’s Neighborhood Revitalization Project, according to Citizens for a Loring Park Community, which advocated for the playground on behalf of the neighborhood.

Public Works was responsible for the playground’s upkeep, rather than the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and made the decision to have it removed after a mid-September inspection by Idaho-based Cornerstone Kids, Inc. revealed non-compliant issues, including several potential head and neck entrapments.

The Loring Greenway Association shared an inspector report with Downtown Voices. The report says Ricardo de Jesus completed a playground evaluation on Sept. 14 for Cornerstone Kids, whose address is listed as a PO Box in Cocolalla, Idaho.

"The general condition of the structure shows advanced wear and tear of a playground of 20 years, which is the life expectancy of public playgrounds," de Jesus wrote in his report. "Because of the non-compliant issues mentioned in this report, and until all issues have been corrected, in professional judgement this playground structure does not meet current ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) and CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) standards and guidelines for public playground use."

Downtown Voices was unable to find a website for Cornerstone Kids, but its active business record with the Minnesota Secretary of State indicates de Jesus founded the company in Stacy, Minnesota in 2000.

Many neighbors, including Jana Metge of Citizens for a Loring Park Community, said they wish the City would have engaged with the neighborhood so other solutions for addressing the safety concerns could have been identified.

“I was saddened that there were no community discussions prior to the demolition on a project not funded by Public Works but rather the neighborhood,” Metge wrote in the late November edition of the Citizens for a Loring Park Community newsletter.

“I am sorry that so many people had to be shocked and disappointed,” she said. “Our communication with Public Works needs to improve. We can and should do better in our city.”

A resident who lives along the Loring Greenway and took her son to the playground every day reached out to Downtown Voices about the sudden closure of the playground. 

Downtown Voices requested an interview with a Public Works official two weeks ago but was told by a City spokesperson that no one was available to talk. Downtown Voices sent a follow-up message on Tuesday to the City spokesperson, who reiterated the inability to set up an interview with someone from Public Works.

Instead, the spokesperson provided the following statement:

“The City had the playground inspected recently and the report showed that there were significant safety issues. Many of the wood posts below the sand were rotting and no longer structurally sound and the slide design did not meet current safety standards.

“We understand the important role that the playground serves in this area. The Loring Greenway Association has expressed interest in seeing another playground in the space but is planning more outreach to community members. We will continue to meet with them over the winter to determine next steps for the space."

Tim Sexton, a former Minnesota Department of Transportation official, became Minneapolis’ Public Works director earlier this year. He replaced Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who became the City’s operations officer in late 2023.

Ward 7 Councilmember Katie Cashman told Downtown Voices that she wasn’t aware of the situation until neighbors started contacting her office for information after the Loring Greenway Playground was disassembled.

“As the councilmember for this area, I was very frustrated that the department made the unilateral decision to remove the playground without consulting or notifying community partners or my office,” Cashman said.

Cashman plans to work with City staff and neighborhood stakeholders in the coming weeks to evaluate options for a replacement playground. Updates on the effort will be shared in future Ward 7 newsletters to give residents the opportunity to weigh in.

“It’s my job to be a bridge between the City and community,” Cashman said. “I’m working with staff to evaluate the decision-making process and communication breakdowns throughout to ensure we can improve moving forward.”

Upgrades to the aging Loring Greenway are currently planned for 2028.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Dec. 5 at 2 p.m.