A task force made up of City Council members, downtown pundits, and building managers and brokers wants to figure out how to revitalize retail in downtown Minneapolis in the wake of several prominent store closings on Nicollet Mall.
On Wednesday afternoon, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced the launch of the city's "Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup," a coalition of stakeholders tasked with finding new ways to fill vacant space and bring vibrancy to downtown storefronts both on the street and in the skyway.
"Retail in and of itself ... is not dead. In fact it's alive and well, but it's changing," Frey said. "We need now to be willing and able to change with the times that we're seeing before us. People are no longer going physically into a space to purchase very basic goods like underwear and T-shirts. However, they are looking for an amazing experience."
As he stood in the former JB Hudson jewelry store at the Young-Quinlan Building off of Nicollet Mall, Frey discussed how the age of large downtown department stores might be over, but there are other ways retail could be reimagined. For example, the old jewelry store is now serving as a pop-up "holiday village" market for more than 40 artists and businesses headed by women or people of color.
The workgroup will begin meeting in January with plans to make recommendations to the city next spring.
The task force was already in the works prior to the recent announcements of the closing of Marshalls, which has been a retail staple on Nicollet for nearly 30 years, and Nordstrom Rack, which closed its IDS Center store last month.
The group is supposed to take into consideration "retail market dynamics, storefront space inventory and occupancy, barriers to existing retail success, and opportunities for inclusive economic development of storefronts."
At this time, funding hasn't been allocated to any initiatives the group might conceive.
