City Presents Concepts for George Floyd Square

July 24, 2024 (MINNEAPOLIS) - On Tuesday, July 23, the City of Minneapolis debuted three street concepts and five site ideas for George Floyd Square.

These initial concepts and ideas are part of the City's ongoing community engagement efforts aimed at developing a comprehensive vision for the square by the end of 2024. The vision will include a preferred concept for the design of the streets as well as ideas for the use and layout of the Peoples' Way property, a former gas station at 3477 Chicago Avenue. The City purchased the property in 2023.

The renderings were unveiled at the third visioning workshop.

Street concepts

The three street conceptsare the first draft for the intersection of Chicago Avenue and 38th Street and surrounding streets, and include options that provide for open access, a transit mall and a pedestrian plaza. Each of the concepts maintains a consistent design along 38th Street and Chicago Avenue south of 38th Street, while offering different options for Chicago Avenue north of 38th Street.

These concepts were guided by the engagement and outreach that has been underway since 2021 and will continue to evolve through future City engagement resulting in a final concept recommendation.

• Open concept: maintainsvehicle access while restoring Metro Transit's D Line and Route 5 service.
• Transit mall: limits vehicular access to local residents and businesses while maintaining access for emergency vehicles and restoring Metro Transit's D Line and Route 5 service.
• Pedestrian plaza: restricts vehicular access to local residents and businesses only, while maintaining access for emergency vehicles. Metro Transit's D Line and Route 5 service will not return to Chicago Avenue, but Route 23 will continue to serve 38^th

All three options preserve and expand space for pedestrians, community uses for gathering, art and memorials.

The Peoples' Way

The Peoples' Way, a former gas station at 3477 Chicago Ave. S., is a community space.

At the visioning workshop, the City unveiled five ideasthat incorporate goals collected in previous community engagement and feedback sessions. Each design idea is meant to spark community conversation about the site's future, which will inform a Request for Qualifications (RFQ). The RFQ process will award development rights to a community developer who will create the final design for the Peoples' Way.

Memorials

The community has also been providing input on memorials through the visioning workshops. Visioning for the memorials will be a focus for the August workshop and will help inform the City's future role in the memorial process.

Next Steps

The City is on track to conclude the community engagement work on George Floyd Square this fall and furnish a final report before the end of the year.

The public is invited to attend the next visioning workshop, August 27 from 5:30-8 p.m. at 3736 Chicago Ave.

More information on the history of George Floyd Square and the engagement process is available on the City's website.

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