MINNEAPOLIS — The long-awaited demolition of the former Kmart building in south Minneapolis is complete. With all the walls down, crews are now busy clearing debris from site.
"It seems to have been going a little faster than what we maybe had expected. We knew that they would have it down within seven days but they've sufficiently taken all of it down in three," said Rebecca Parrell, a project supervisor in the business development division of the Community Planning & Economic Development department for the city of Minneapolis.
Demolition preparations took place last week. On Tuesday, the walls started coming down.
Parrell said it's unclear how long crews will be clearing debris at the site.
After a fire tore through parts of the abandoned building last month, it sped up the demolition process; but it now puts a wrench in cleanup.
"They have to wrap the trucks that are carrying burnt material, separately and differently. Then there's some additional manifests that need to get signed and those materials go to different locations than non-burnt material," Parrell explained.
Next year, crews will take out the foundation and plant grass seed in the spring.
The New Nicollet Redevelopment Project will reopen Nicollet Avenue between Lake Street and Cecil Newman Lane.
The Kmart store was built in 1977 which led to the road being closed. Since then, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has described it as "one of the worst urban planning decisions ever made."
In 2020, the City of Minneapolis paid $9.1 million to buy out Kmart's lease which wasn't set to expire until 2053.
The city has three concepts for the public space and four ideas for Nicollet Avenue. The development also calls for affordable housing and commercial space. View the design concepts, here.
"It's taken a long time and so in some ways, it almost feels anti-climatic at this point," Parrell said. "But... it's super exciting to be at the next stage and we're going to have some exciting stuff for 2024."
With the online survey closed, the city will now review public feedback on the proposed ideas for the public space and Nicollet Avenue. Parrell said she will find out next week how many people took the survey but at the mid-point, they had received feedback from about 3,500 people.
Next year, the final plans will be presented to city council.
Road construction is expected to begin in 2025.
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