Minneapolis officials recommend Minnesota Agape Movement develops site at George Floyd Square
A team of staff for the City of Minneapolis has made their recommendation for the group they'd like to see develop the Peoples' Way site at George Floyd Square, awarding exclusive development rights to the Minnesota Agape Movement.
The city announced the news in a press release on Thursday afternoon, marking what it calls "major progress" at the area's intersection.
The plan, which still needs to pass through the Minneapolis City Council, would award Agape the exclusive rights to redevelop the site for as long as three years.
Agape was one of several organizations to submit plans to the city. In its proposal, the group submitted plans to build a six-story multi-use building, featuring a gift shop, lobby and café on the first floor, a second-floor museum dedicated to civil resilience, a third-floor business incubator, a fourth-floor music and media area, a fifth-floor restaurant and bar and a sixth-floor rooftop garden and community event space.
"The Minnesota Agape Movement is honored to move forward in partnership with the City of Minneapolis, business owners, artists, families and the broader community on the future of the Peoples' Way," said Reginald Ferguson, CEO of the Minnesota Agape Movement in the release.
The move has been criticized by multiple city council members who represent the area, with Ward 9 Councilmember Jason Chavez pointing out that a community-wide survey ended with the majority of respondents recommending a different proposal.
"I have concerns about fairness, transparency, and accountability," said Chavez in a statement to WCCO-TV. "Mayor Frey sat on the results of this survey for over a year and he chose to disregard the data and the community's preference."
Miles Mercer, who works on the city's Community Planning and Economic Development team, was one of a handful who selected Agape — defending the decision to go against the recommendations of the community survey.
"We considered the community input, but we also had this other criteria to consider, like relevant experience," said Mercer. "Agape has been in George Floyd Square for years, is from the community and really wants to work with community and other stakeholders."
He acknowledged that Agape's plan to build a six-story development is "not feasible" and said he anticipates the project to be scaled back in favor of something smaller.
"They've already communicated to us that they've acknowledged that," said Mercer, adding that there is currently no specific design direction.
He said Agape's team approach stood out to city decision makers.
"Agape is a team – there's a team of folks that they've put in their project. Those team members have relevant experience with real estate and other development projects," said Mercer.
At least one codeveloper listed in Agape's city proposal has clarified they are not tied to the project.
Landon Group, which Agape listed as a codeveloper who would "lead the funding application process" has since clarified it is not involved.
"Landon Group recently learned that we were referenced in materials related to the People's Way proposal, though we were not involved in the submission process. We have reached out to the City to address this and to ensure accurate representation in all future materials," wrote Landon Group Principal Sarah Larson in a statement to WCCO-TV.
Mercer said he's confident in the project moving forward.
"I'm optimistic that Agape has a team that will work with community and advance our development proposal there," he said.