Minneapolis unveils draft plan for former Kmart site
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The city of Minneapolis is moving ahead on plans to redevelop the site where a Kmart store has blocked Nicollet Avenue for nearly 50 years.
City officials unveiled a draft development framework Tuesday which includes multiple uses for the 10-acre site.
“We should be able to see development of a grocery store, development of market rate and affordable housing,” said Erik Hansen, community planning and economic development director. “We’ll see the opportunity for home ownership on this site as directed and desired by community members.”
Hansen added that the city’s community engagement process up to this point has been substantial.
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The city has held a series of in-person and virtual community input sessions over the years to get a sense of what residents want to see in the space.
Anna Schmitz, director of the Whittier Alliance said community input played a significant role in the development of the draft framework.
“This whole plan is really informed by what the community has been asking for,” said Schmitz. “What we're hoping for, what we're hoping to see here is that this is really going to open things up for the neighborhood. Open things up for the small business owners.”
Schmitz added that the Whittier Alliance was formed in 1977 as a response to closing of Nicollet and the construction of the Kmart.
“I think it’s a little bit of a lesson that you might be able to avoid 50 years of headache when you listen to community members,” she said. “So I’m really happy to say that things have been different this time around.”
Mayor Jacob Frey said at the time city officials may have thought the decision to block a major thoroughfare with a department store was the right thing to do at the time. But he said it turned out to be a bad decision.
Frey said participating in the demolition of the former Kmart in 2023 was a bucket list item for him. And he added that the reopening of Nicollet and the development of the area will be a boost for neighborhood and city residents.
“It’s something that I think so many community members will be able to enjoy for generations,” said Frey. “And they advocated for it. They pushed us, they helped make it happen, and we're so proud to partner with them.”
The development framework — which also includes space for a public park — will need approval from the city council and the mayor. Construction on the Nicollet Avenue bridge adjacent to the site will begin later this year.
