Imagine a future downtown Minneapolis that includes a Nicollet Mall for pedestrians only. That's just one of the ideas coming out of a working group to revitalize the city.
“We can make an extraordinary pedestrian mall in Downtown in Minneapolis,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said on Tuesday. “We can do it. And we shouldn’t be afraid to lean into what’s next.”
Mayor Frey joined members of the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup inside the new Dayton's Project building as they presented recommendations to revitalize the city's center.
That center has changed a lot since pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. Less people work downtown and certainly less people visit downtown.
Frey says they want to lean into the challenge and come up with a comprehensive plan to get people back, and make them feel safe.
“We don’t want to take anything off the table here,” said Frey.
The mayor created the group last year and it is co-chaired by Downtown Council CEO Steve Cramer and African-American Leadership Forum CIO Gabrielle Grier. The group also includes city council members, business leaders and other city residents in an effort to revitalize downtown.
Key takeaways from the Workgroup’s recommendations include:
City-Business Partnership: Create an independent facilitator/concierge role through the Minneapolis Downtown Council/Downtown Improvement District (MDC/DID) who will use knowledge, space inventory, and relationships to match building owners with potential businesses, entrepreneurs, and artists. Pair this facilitator with a City staff person dedicated to strategically catalyzing downtown revitalization. Fund and institutionalize this partnership.
Ease of Doing Business: Evaluate current regulations related to land use, zoning, signage, and permitting, licensing, and fees, and seek new ways to be flexible and make doing business with the City even easier. Focus deliberately on the specific needs of downtown. Be open to new ideas and business models and provide more technical assistance. Continue developing strong partnerships between City staff and business and property owners.
Nicollet Mall: Evaluate the future of Nicollet Mall as a pedestrian-only zone. Explore alternative options for transit service elsewhere through downtown and engage stakeholders to understand the full range of impacts. Brand Nicollet Mall as the “best winter street in the nation” and explore legislation to allow open containers on Nicollet Mall and in other specific areas downtown. As a first step, consider consolidation of the northernmost block (3rd Street to Washington), joining RBC Gateway Plaza and Cancer Survivors Park as a demonstration project.
Incentivize Activation: Implement assessment practices that incentivize active, reduced- or non-revenue uses of commercial retail space as an alternative to vacancies. Recognize that providing lower cost and more flexible leases to emerging businesses and artists reduces rents and property values, while recent (pre-2020) rents and valuations no longer reflect reality and incentivize building owners to keep spaces vacant as opposed to filling them at reduced rents.
Focus Resources: Allocate energy and resources towards implementing interventions at focused intersections to maximize success and build momentum. The Warehouse District, with its history as an entertainment node, adjacency to the lively North Loop, and historic buildings more readily converted to residential uses, should be a starting point for additional study and intervention.
Budget: Beginning in the second half of 2023, invest $75,000, in partnership with MDC/DID, for a total of $150,000, to begin this work. In 2024, invest an allocation of $750,000 to support the ongoing revitalization of downtown Minneapolis and budget this as an annual expense.
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