Community Performing Arts Center (CPAC)

The Center for Performing Arts (CPAC) is an outdoor entertainment amphitheater and community-based hub within the historic Upper Harbor Terminal master plan project. Developed by United Properties for the Port of Minneapolis (First Avenue Productions) along with joint partners Minnesota Orchestra and the City of Minneapolis, all in collaboration with the Camden community.

This venue is on a 5.12-acre site between the Mississippi River and Interstate Highway 94. A nationally designated bicycle and pedestrian trail parallels the Mississippi and moves through this site. The property overlaps a federally designated Promise Zone (and Minneapolis Green Zone), where programs center on improving the economic conditions of traditionally under served communities.

The development will accommodate over 9,000 visitors and is consolidated within a decorative fence designed in collaboration with north-side artists. Patrons enter along the new West River Road North.

The venue offers a variety of performance types, from music to dance to theater. Seating options enhance the customer experience, including general admissions for standing or loose seating (2,300), a raised fixed-seating zone (1,800), 100 box seats for VIP guests, and the massive sloped elevated lawn (4,300). The rear lawn upper concourse is accessed using symmetrical cascading 20'-0" wide grand stairs and ADA elevator access. This highest level is over twenty feet above the main stage surface.

The performance stage is 100'-0" X 64'-0" with a 50'-0" high proscenium opening, boasting a catwalk system with cutting-edge lighting, cameras, and immense video screens. The venue supports four semi-trucks and two touring buses, meeting the requirements of Class-A concerts and the Minnesota Orchestra.

A multipurpose building serves as the back-of-house support function during performances and as a community hub for neighborhood functions. Over 70 shipping containers will provide an industrial character for concessions, ticketing, security, artist compounds, medical, and VIP services.The venue reflects community engagement participation from hundreds of people over years of input from government and private organizations who shared in the planning process to culminate in a genuinely collaborative solution.