MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council has agreed on a new site for the police department's Third Precinct building and a community safety center, more than three years after the original station was destroyed in the unrest following George Floyd's murder.
KARE 11 reporter Kiya Edwards was at City Hall Thursday morning when the council passed the resolution by a vote of 8-5 to acquire 2633 Minnehaha Ave. for a future "Community Safety Center/Third Precinct facility project." After months of back and forth between city leaders, Mayor Jacob Frey proposed the location just days before the Committee of the Whole was scheduled to meet on Tuesday this week.
The new location is just a few blocks north of the original location that was burned in 2020.
Ahead of Thursday's vote, council members again engaged in a lengthy debate.
"It really is heartbreaking to hear us fighting over this," Ward 4 Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said.
"The divide is about whose humanity gets centered and at what pace do we go," Ward 5 Council Member Jeremiah Ellison added.
Those in favor said it was time to make a decision, as police have not been stationed in the immediate area for more than three years.
"The people of the Third Precinct deserve a precinct," Vetaw said. "They deserve a safety center also but they deserve a precinct."
"The way I see it, this is the first step of getting that healing," Ward 6 Council Member Jamal Osman said.
Those opposed said community center plans are undeveloped, worrying police would move in before police alternatives meant to share the building are even identified.
"Ultimately it will result in another false promise if we don't have specific plan behind it," Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley said.
Following Thursday's vote, Frey called the move "a long time in the making."
“It’s time to move forward with our vision for comprehensive safety services – a vision we all agree on. Now that we have a site approved, we will begin work immediately on the safety center," he said. "We're trying to get police officers in that building as quickly as possible. We're trying to get safety beyond policing in that building as quickly as possible."
According to the city, the building is expected to take about nine months to complete, with officers projected to be in place within a year. The city estimates the acquisition and buildout will amount to around $14 million.
One of the previous sites proposed by the city this year involved Third Precinct officers moving into downtown's Century Plaza, a location that would have been shared with First Precinct officers. That idea was approved by the council, but after more discussion about the potential long-term plans for the site, the resolution went back to committee and then ultimately shuttered.
Also worth noting from Thursday's meeting, Ward 9 Council Member Jason Chavez proposed yet another location for the building at 3716 Cheatham Ave., but that measure failed.
Back in spring, several groups including the Longfellow Community Council criticized how the city engaged community in choosing a future site, saying residents wanted to help identify location options instead of only being presented with them.
Longfellow Community Council President Rachel Boeke sent KARE 11 the following statement in response to the new decision:
"Longfellow Community Council will continue demanding that community be a part of each new process to unfold from here - including determining what services should be available within the newly conceived 'community safety center' at 2633 Minnehaha as well as deciding how the former precinct site at 3000 Minnehaha can now best serve the area. We remain hopeful that Council will act on behalf of the community and push forward the necessary action steps to create a meaningful, intentional and honest engagement process that respects and meets community needs not just within the new building but also with an encompassing community safety plan that looks at needed reforms to all levels of our criminal justice system."
In 2020, the exact same 2633 Minnehaha Ave. site was proposed as a temporary option for police, but threats to burn the building emerged and the deal with its owner fell through.
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