MINNEAPOLIS — What currently is a big empty lot is best known to people in Minneapolis as the old Kmart but soon will become the 'New Nicollet Avenue.'
The Minneapolis City Council has now approved the concept layout for how the 10-acre site will be transformed.
"This project has been many years in the making and a long time coming," said council member Aisha Chughtai. "Today is a massive step."
Chughtai says the crucial part of the process involved in-person community meetings to find out what residents near the Whittier Neighborhood location want out of the project.
"It's a 90 percent renter community. I think we want investments in things that support our day to day lives. And want improved safety and walkability/bikebilty," she said.
"This project will reconnect the street. Provide some ADA improvements, some pedestrian-level improvements," said council member Andrea Jenkins.
Nicollet Ave. was closed down between Lake St. and 29th St. in the late 1970s for the construction of the KMart and an enormous parking lot. In early 2020, Minneapolis purchased K-Mart's lease and it took a long time for the city to acquire the needed land for redevelopment.
The plans got fast-tracked last October when a fire severely damaged the Kmart building -- which was then demolished in November.
"And now we know where the developable parcels of land are. So the next steps that will come after this are figuring out what we're going to do with those developable parcels of land – who is going to develop there, what is going to go in all of that space. I mean this is a ten-acre site," Chughtai said.
With the concept approved, the project can move onto Phase 3: the detailed street design and engineering.
There are plans for future park space -- retail and entertainment, designed in mind for those who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Construction is slated to begin next year in 2025.
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