Gary New Duluth Community Center and Recreation Area (GND REC)

About Gary New Duluth Community Center and Recreation Area (GND REC)

GND REC is the resident-led organization behind the redevelopment of Gary New Duluth Park at 801 101st Avenue West. It describes its work as a collaboration between the local community, private contributors and the City of Duluth, aimed at turning the park property into a functioning community center and recreation area for a neighborhood of more than 3,000 people (GND REC, accessed 2026-08-13).

The facilities it operates or helped bring back include a community building, a sport court used for pickleball and team sports, gardens, a pavilion, a dog park, ice skating and skateboarding areas, and picnic grounds. Day-to-day programming runs alongside partners including the Duluth Community Garden Program, Duluth Dog Parks and the Arrowhead Youth Soccer Association.

The organization states its purpose in terms of what a shared space does for a community rather than in terms of facilities: that by transforming the park property for the community's benefit, the people of the community become stronger and safer and interact with one another.

It matters to anyone considering this end of the city. The far west neighborhoods lost amenities steadily through the decades after the US Steel Duluth Works closed in 1972, and a park actively rebuilt by its own residents is the most concrete evidence available of which direction the neighborhood is now moving. People get involved by volunteering time and skills, donating materials or services, or contributing funds.

Neighborhoods it serves

Where these facts come from

• GND REC, Who We Are accessed 2026-08-13

Last reviewed 2026-08-13 by Guide editorial.