The City of Minneapolis provided the first look at what is to become of the former Kmart site on Nicollet Avenue and Lake street in the south side of the city. In the late 1970s, Nicollet was bisected to build the Kmart, effectively cutting off the area from other neighborhoods.
While the redevelopment for new businesses won't happen for some time, infrastructure projects will move faster with the reconnecting of Nicollet project starting sometime in 2025 according to city plans. They'll need to construct 0.2 miles of Nicollet Avenue between Lake Street and Cecil Newman Lane including new sidewalks and bike lanes.
The process included extensive public input with the site now dubbed “New Nicollet." It will once again serve as a commercial and cultural crossroads, much like it did in the decades leading up to the Kmart taking up residence. But it will be quite a while before any of it comes to fruition. The Minneapolis City Council voted to approve this plan in May of 2024.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey says it will be the spot for an array of new public resources including a new grocery store.
"We're looking at housing options, both affordable and market rates," says Frey. "We're looking at small local businesses including a larger scale grocery store and then finally a park. We want to make sure that every neighborhood regardless of zip code or socioeconomic background has access to green space."
That development on the first two phases of the project are set to be finished sometime in 2029, which the city noted is a working target. Frey says the plan took decades of effort after the decision to close of this portion of Nicollet was originally made.
"The city very quickly recognized that that had been the wrong decision and many administrations, many councils, many neighborhood associations since then have fought to get this thing reopened again," Frey explained.
It was sped along after the city purchased the lease from Kmart in 2020. After the building caught fire in October of 2023, the site was demolished.
Nicollet Avenue was and is a key thoroughfare through Minneapolis, and at one point a major entryway into downtown with two major streetcars meeting at the intersection of Lake and Nicollet. The Kmart site ended that long era for Nicollet cutting it off at 29th street, in essence making it two separate streets with a large parcel in between them.
There are plans from Metro Transit to create a new Bus Rapid Transit route along Nicollet once it is reconnected.