The City of Minneapolis may soon purchase the abandoned gas station at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, across the street from the site of where George Floyd was killed in 2020.
The city is interested in purchasing the lot in order to eventually open a racial justice healing center of some sort, Minneapolis officials confirmed Wednesday.
It was last sold in 2010 for $1 million and is currently assessed at $585,000.
Erik Hansen, the city's director of economic policy and development, said his team is in the due diligence phase of the acquisition, with the goal of completing the sale in December after the Minneapolis City Council votes on approval in November.
The former Speedway station closed shortly after Floyd's death and has become a makeshift memorial and constant gathering place for protestors.
"We are mindful of [the site's] significance not only for the city and the state but the world, with George Floyd being murdered just across the street and actions and activities that happened at 'people's way," Hansen told WCCO Radio. "We want to make sure the use is commensurate with the standing the site has."
As first reported in the Star Tribune, community input would be sought if the Minneapolis City Council would decide to move forward with the purchase.
The city also doesn't plan to own the property long term. The plan is for the city to help facilitate the planning process, taking in feedback from key stakeholder groups and formulating a potential design plan. Once the planning is complete, Hansen said the city will team up with a community development partner, who will solely develop and manage the site from there.
"We understand this is a significant responsibility for the city. We are trying to be mindful, with respect to the various needs of the community by developing an engagement framework," said Hansen, adding the city is sensitive to the residents that live in the area and will work to make sure no residents are displaced because of project.
The idea is tied to a bigger vision for the space and the group 38th and Chicago Re-Envisioned is working with the community to on what the intersection of 38th and Chicago should look like going forward. However, the development of the new site will be on an alternate timeline, Hansen said.
"The city is working across all the departments to coordinate investments that are being made but this project will be on its own timeline," Hansen said. He envisions it will take several years to fully plan the space before the city hands it off to the community development partner.
The city's pre-existing project to reimagine and reconstruct the intersection of 38th street and Chicago Avenue, is currently in its community engagement stage. Through this process, Minneapolis public works intends to redesign the area in a way that reflects community needs.
According to the project over, the redesign is intended to lead to “racial healing” in the neighborhood and honor the voices of the Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. It is expected to reach the final concepts phase by Summer 2023.
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