Final development plans for the former Kmart site at Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue have been released by the City. Features include a grocery store, green space, affordable housing, and over 700 parking spots.

A draft of the development released Wednesday includes the number of affordable and market rate housing units, retail square feet, and parking units. The City of Minneapolis is redeveloping the 10-acre site, in conjunction with numerous developers yet to be chosen. The plot of land was developed as a Kmart in 1977 and cut off Nicollet Avenue at Lake Street to vehicle traffic. The redevelopment plan will reopen Nicollet Avenue to vehicle traffic after 50 years.

Mixed-use, affordable housing developments on the southeast corner of the site will be the first to be developed, according to the City. Publicly accessible green space should be included with the developments, as the City is asking all developers to include that amenity in their plans.

The Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board will be developing indoor space in one of the initial mixed-use apartment buildings. A park will also be developed in conjunction with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board in phase two of the project.

The City will develop Sections 1 and 2 first, in the New Nicollet "Development Program." Image: City of Minneapolis

“We can't wait for a more interconnected Whittier neighborhood,” Executive Director of the Whittier Alliance Anna Schmitz said. The Whittier Alliance was founded in 1977 to stop the closure of Nicollet Avenue to build the Kmart building in the same year.

The open house at Whittier International Elementary School on Feb. 25 included the final development plans for the former Kmart site. Photo by Melody Hoffmann

The Kmart building was demolished in 2023 after a fire started and spread through the vacant building. The building was already slated for demolition for the New Nicollet project. The City of Minneapolis bought the Kmart property in 2020.

The project, in its draft form, includes 284 affordable housing units, 324 market-rate units, and 21 subsidized townhomes. Nicollet Avenue will not be open to vehicle traffic for “a few years,” according to the City’s Director of Community Planning & Economic Development Erik Hansen. The full project will be complete by 2030.

‍

This article was updated on Feb. 26.