MINNEAPOLIS — It has been the bane of many in the city of Minneapolis, a building that cut a storied thoroughfare in half and blocked ambitious development ideas for decades.
City leaders announced Thursday that a deal has been struck with the parent company of the Kmart store at the intersection of Lake Street and Nicollet to end a lease decades early, and allow for demolition of the building.
"Reopening Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street has been a major City and community priority for decades," read a statement released by the city. "Reopening the street will reconnect neighborhoods, reestablish the street grid and set the stage for new development on 10 acres of land currently home to single-story retail buildings and surface parking lots."
“Unblocking this artery is key to unlocking transit potential for Minneapolis,” said Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey in a statement. “Our city’s ability to seize this opportunity came as a result of deliberate preparation over many years. This is a momentous day for our entire city.”
The Kmart store was built in 1977, with the current lease set to expire in 2053. City staff are recommending a $9.1 million buyout of that lease that would take place on or before June 30 of this year. The money would come from what the city calls its Streetcar Value Capture Fund, using property taxes generated from five land parcels along the Nicollet Corridor that have been earmarked for a future streetcar line.
“We have been working toward the goal of reconnecting Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street for many years and this is the final piece of the puzzle to make it a reality,” said Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender in a statement. “The Nicollet-Central Corridor runs the entire length of the City and filling this gap will provide critical connections for the surrounding neighborhoods and for residents, businesses and visitors throughout the City.”
In an interview, Bender said redevelopment of the site could include affordable housing and new job uses.
"There's an opportunity to do a lot here, a lot of mixed-use development. It's a transit-rich part of the city, a lot of people live nearby, and it's one of the densest parts of our city," Bender said. "There's a lot of opportunity to envision what's next."
If the deal is approved by the City Council in a vote scheduled for March 13, demolition could begin on the Kmart site later in 2020.
Sisters Erica and Gina Christ, whose family has owned the German restaurant Black Forest Inn in Whittier for more than a half-century, said they were thrilled by the news that Nicollet would eventually re-open.
"There is, right now, a black hole at 29th and Nicollet," Erica said. "It will definitely change the landscape of the neighborhood, and change it in ways we can't really imagine."
The sisters, however, did express concerns about rising property values and would like to see the city address possible gentrification.
Bender said the city will respond to those concerns.
"We are working to put as many protections in place as we can, and it will really inform what goes back there," Bender said.
Between planning, engineering and building, the road reconstruction will take at least three years and likely longer.