Saint Paul Parks and Recreation is throwing open the gates on a brand-new downtown green space, with the grand opening of Wabasha Park set for next Tuesday, October 13, from noon to 1 p.m. at 376 Wabasha St. N. The event will include speakers, a ribbon cutting and a food truck on site, marking the public debut of a plaza that has been under construction for nearly a year.
The city announced the celebration in a post by Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, inviting residents to check out the finished site. The $4.1 million project was funded through Saint Paul's voter-approved 1% local option sales tax, known as Common Cent, which was enacted in May 2024, according to the St. Paul Voice. The tax was designed to generate nearly $1 billion over 20 years for city infrastructure, with $246 million earmarked specifically for parks and recreation projects.
That parks funding was badly needed. When the sales tax was enacted in 2024, the Parks and Recreation Department was staring down $100 million in deferred maintenance across its $600 million asset portfolio, including $60 million in facilities considered to be in critical condition, the St. Paul Voice reports. Wabasha Park's overhaul was one answer to that backlog, turning a deteriorating downtown plaza into a modern, accessible gathering space.
From Corporate Plaza to Public Park
The site itself has a long history under different names. The City of Saint Paul has owned the land since 1979, and over nearly five decades it was known successively as Capital Centre Plaza, Ecolab Plaza and Osborn Plaza. Ownership and tenants of the surrounding tower changed over time, according to the City of Saint Paul. Deterioration of the existing plaza and changes in surrounding land use eventually pushed the city to overhaul the space entirely.
The Wabasha Park name itself came from residents. A month-long public survey in September 2025 drew more than 100 community submissions, and Wabasha Park emerged as the top choice before the Saint Paul City Council approved the renaming on April 22, 2026, per the city's project page. The naming process reflected an effort to give the plaza a neutral public identity rather than naming it after a commercial neighbor.
Flattened Access and Restored Public Art
Prime contractor Sheehy Construction Company handled the physical rebuild, replacing the plaza's old stepped access with a continuous grade that meets ADA accessibility standards. The city's project materials describe the previous layout, with its elevated steps and poor sightlines, as a hindrance to public circulation and event programming. New additions include a central pergola, a pet relief area, food truck parking and updated lighting.
The renovation also preserved Skygate, a 2000 public art sculpture by artist R.M. Fischer that stands at Wabasha Park and draws inspiration from Saint Paul's ice palaces. The sculpture, built around stainless steel rings and a central blue acrylic sphere meant to represent sky, water and infinity, was disassembled in July for restoration before being re-anchored at the park, according to the city and Downtown St. Paul. All of the plaza's pre-existing trees were removed during demolition but are being replaced on a 1:1 ratio with a more diverse mix of species.
In the final weeks before the ribbon cutting, the city kept the park's northern portion open so pedestrians could still reach the front doors of surrounding buildings, including Osborn370, Stella and Alliance Bank. Officials note the park functions as a key pedestrian corridor linking street level to the downtown skyway system.
Part of a Bigger Downtown Push
Wabasha Park sits directly beside Stella Residencies, a residential development that reimagined a former office tower and added more than 176 homes to downtown. The project celebrated its own grand opening in September, as reported by True North News. The adaptive reuse is part of a push to bring more full-time residents into downtown Saint Paul's commercial core.
The park's completion also lands alongside other downtown revitalization efforts this fall, including the September opening of an ALDI grocery store downtown and $300,000 in small-business grants awarded by the Saint Paul Port Authority, according to the Community Reporter. Local business leaders and city agencies appear to be combining public space upgrades, retail recruitment and housing conversions in a coordinated attempt to boost downtown activity. More details on the Wabasha Park project are available at the city's information page, www.stpaul.gov/osbornplazaimprovements.
