Project Brief
It wasn’t until recently that the
site next. Most recently, the USPS signed a
two parcel, 10 acre lot that sits directly
month contract to lease the site in July of 202
at the intersection of Lake Street and
The site is currently acting as the post offi
Nicollet Avenue in South Minneapolis
for 2 adjacent neighborhoods, both of which h
has come into the public eye. Though the
their own burned down during the 2020 Geor
site has been part of plenty internal
Floyd protests. Additionally, Covid-19 has sh
planning amongst the City of Minneapolis
down many of the local establishments forci
and neighborhood organizations, it was
surviving restaurant to be takeout only. 1 blo
not until local and state media outlets
east of the site is Interstate 35W on the hee
started asking why Kmart disrupts the
of its 4.5 year $239M renovation.
city grid at a major through-way in the heart of Minneapolis, Nicollet Avenue.
Upon further investigation, it was
discovered that the proposed “Nicollet Lake Development District” of the 1970’s was desperate for funding after much of the expected development along the corridors fell through. Luckily, an up and coming discount retail store named Kmart,
offered
millions
of
dollars
in needed funding to lease a future building, eventually shutting down any thoughtful
movement
north
or
south
along Nicollet Avenue. From this, we get to the 10 acre impervious structure and parking lot that we see today. This was the beginning of the "Bigbox" era.
Despite the City of Minneapolis
buying out the Kmart lease in 2020 for $9.1 Million, there really is no indication what will happen with the
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