Nicollet Avenue Kmart redesign plan approved by Minneapolis City Council
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council has approved a radical redesign of the former Kmart site that severed Nicollet Avenue for decades.
Nicollet was razed from Lake Street to East 29th Street in 1977 to build the big box store, a move city leaders admitted decades later negatively impacted the Kingfield and Lyndale neighborhoods.
Kmart said the location was one of its most profitable in the United States, and it had a land lease that wasn't set to expire until 2053.
Nevertheless, the city negotiated a $9 million deal to buy the land in 2020. It briefly housed the Lake Street Post Office following its destruction during the uprising that followed George Floyd's murder.
The building was then occupied for months by squatters, who were cleared out about two days before it was also destroyed by fire on Oct. 20, 2023. Investigators were unable to pinpoint the fire's cause or origin. The building was demolished about a month later.
The city gathered feedback from the community about the site's future and settled on a plan that includes these preliminary features:
- A reconnected Nicollet Avenue
- Pedestrian and bicycle connection spanning the avenue
- Raised median safety island
- Redesigned bridge over the Greenway on the site's north end
- ADA-compliant parking and loading spaces
- Park space covering the avenue's east and west sides
Twelve of the City Council's 13 members voted in favor of the plan on Thursday. Councilmember Jeremiah Ellison was absent for the vote.
Construction is expected to start next year.
