"The river was viewed as an obstacle. Today, people look at it as an amenity." Champlin Mayor Ryan Sabas said that to the Minnesota Star Tribune in September 2025, as the city's long riverfront project was wrapping up.
A year later, that line has turned into a test for the next project. The riverfront district is finished. Now the city is studying roughly 19 acres just west of Highway 169, and the first round of public comments shows what people want there. Most of them want those acres to do what the finished Crossings already does. They are much less interested in new buildings.
The Finished Crossings Was Never Meant to Be a Downtown
Mississippi Crossings took 26 years and five mayors. It started in the late 1990s, when city leaders began rethinking the 160 acres south of the Anoka-Champlin bridge. Before that, small, aging apartment buildings lined the riverfront, and nothing significant had been built there since the 1980s.
The goal was deliberate from the start. "Champlin is in between two great historic downtowns in Anoka and Osseo," Sabas told the Star Tribune. "We realized we don't need to create something that's already surrounding us. What we needed was a community gathering space."
The spending shows that goal. According to the Star Tribune, the city spent nearly $16 million buying property. A cleanup and restoration of Elm Creek, its dam, and Mill Pond cost more than $18 million. That work made the water easier for boats and canoes and added fishing areas and public docks. A $12 million reconstruction of Hwy 169 came next. After that came private projects: an 85-unit senior cooperative and a 215-unit apartment building by Greco. Building the apartments allowed the city to add the parking and utilities the rest of the site needed.
The public pieces came after that. The city built the event center and outdoor performance area in 2022. City Community Development Director Scott Schulte told the Star Tribune that the Thursday summer concerts, with food trucks on the grounds, have drawn as many as 2,000 people. Jensen's Market opened in 2023, and Cullen's added ice cream.
The Restaurant Was the Last Piece
CHAR BLU Riverside at 321 East River Parkway was the last major piece, and it opened as 2025 ended. The Star Tribune's review on December 29, 2025 began with "Champlin has been waiting for this." The reviewer said the large square bar filled up at 3 p.m. happy hour during the first few days. Big-D Construction's Midwest team built the restaurant, and Architectural Consortium LLC and Studio Grey designed it. It has more than 5,600 square feet inside and a concession stand that serves the concert venue.
That last detail matters. The restaurant was designed to work with the public space around it. The 260-seat patio that opened this summer has a dining terrace, a pergola-covered bar, and a lower lounge with fire pits, all facing the river and the city's concert venue. Owner Korey Bannerman told the Star Tribune the project was designed to connect diners to the venue and the riverfront. The paper put it on its list of the best new patios for summer 2026. The same article said the covered bar was slated to get retractable walls to extend its fall season, with plans for a holiday "Jingle Bar." The restaurant's own channels are the place to check whether that has happened this year.
Bannerman described Mississippi Crossings to the Star Tribune in one sentence: "It's become the heart of the city."
The 19 Acres Across the Highway
With the riverfront district done, the city turned to the area west of Hwy 169. It includes some of Champlin's oldest homes and the Champlin Sinclair station, which the Star Tribune called the city's longest-lasting business. In fall 2025, Sabas said the area could use owner-occupied condos, a higher-end boutique hotel, and more restaurants. He also said, "We're just opening up the conversation."
That conversation happened in public on April 6, 2026, at the Mississippi Crossings Phase II Small Area Plan open house at City Hall. According to the city's published open-house notes, more than 100 residents, business owners, area employees, and others reviewed two development concepts and talked with planners, city staff, Mayor Sabas, and Councilmember Huttner.
Here is how the city summarized the feedback:
| Topic | What the open-house notes recorded |
|---|---|
| Traffic | The main concern for most people, especially more congestion on Hwy 169 and Dayton |
| Housing | Participants tended to favor lower-density options such as townhomes, if anything is built |
| Boutique hotel | Opinions were divided |
| Parks and water access | Most liked the park concepts and a non-motorized waterway trailhead |
| Park location | Split between keeping it at Richardson Park and moving it to the river side of Dayton |
| History | Strong support for preserving the Sinclair Station and the historic homes |
The handwritten comments, transcribed in the same document, are more specific:
"Loves idea of water trail at bridge site"
"Please keep Sinclair station! Love the history and uniqueness!"
"I like the Sinclair Dino + repurposing the station building"
"Farmers market at the park"
Another comment came from the Modern Montessori charter school, which wants to keep the sledding hill at Richardson Park and said it does not want to look out at townhomes and backyards.
Compare those comments with the mayor's 2025 wish list. Condos, a hotel, and restaurants would bring new things to the west side. The open house mostly asked for parks, a place to put a canoe in, and the old station kept in place. Public space and access to the water are also what the finished Crossings is built around.
What Hasn't Been Decided
The open-house notes record reactions to two concepts, not a selected plan. The city keeps a Phase II project page for the effort.
The Sinclair's future is also undecided. The Merkl family ran the full-service station for nearly 50 years. In May 2025, the Star Tribune reported that the family was considering a sale. The city held a right-of-first-offer agreement, and its economic development authority had agreed to start that process. The open house in April showed how much people care about the station.
Traffic, the top concern at the open house, is part of a separate project. Hennepin County's Dayton River Road study collected public input in 2025. The county's 2026 capital budget includes a planned reconstruction of Dayton River Road from Colburn Street to Linwood Forest Drive, with a design process to decide on walking and biking facilities.
On the Finished Side This November
Most of the riverfront calendar this month is inside the Mississippi Crossings Event Center at 307 East River Parkway:
- Saturday, November 7. The first Anoka Wedding Social runs from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.
- Friday, November 20. Family "Thanksgiving" Bingo has two sessions, 5:15 to 7 p.m. and 7:15 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $8 for residents and $12 for nonresidents, according to the city calendar.
- Saturday and Sunday, November 21 and 22. The Holiday Artisan Market brings local makers, bakers, and artisans, and shopping is free. Sunday runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Check the event page for Saturday's closing time, since the listing gives two different times.
In each of the past two Decembers, the city has planned Christmas at the Crossings, its tree lighting by the river. Last year's event was scheduled for December 5, 2025, from 4 to 7 p.m., with the tree lit at 6:30 p.m. In 2024 it included a choir, Santa, cocoa, and cookies. The 2026 date isn't on the city calendar yet. Between events, Jensen's Market lists hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
When the west side plan comes back for another round of comments, West + Main Homes MN wants to hear what you'd like on those 19 acres, whether that's a water trail, a saved Sinclair station, or a sledding hill kept where it is. If you're curious about what the riverfront's changes mean for your corner of the north metro, we're always glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
