Where Lake Street rebuilding projects stand four years after the riots

The $28 million rehab of the Coliseum Building is largely completed. Ground will be broken in July on a new $30 million Southside Community Health Services clinic. And there is no plan finalized yet for the former U.S. Bank branch property.

At the corner where the police murder of George Floyd occurred, 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, P.J. Hill, a former professional basketball player, financial adviser and developer who grew up in south Minneapolis, is leading the redevelopment of the building at 3728-3734 Chicago Av. called Chicago Avenue Shops.

The development already operated 38 Event Center, an event space, but Hill said he wants the building to be a catalyst for economic change in the area. He’s working with BKV Group architects to upgrade the building and hopes to announce a plan this summer. In his way, he said, is the city’s slow pace at finalizing a public memorial plan for Floyd.

Meanwhile, progress on rebuilding and reimagined uses for sites destroyed during the 2020 riots following Floyd’s killing are all over the map. Here are progress reports from developers and owners of some of the bigger projects:

Coliseum Building, 2700-2800 E. Lake St. About 80,000 square feet is available for lease to office and retail tenants. The vision is a hub for businesses with owners of color. Nonprofit developer Redesign (formerly Seward Redesign) owns 43% of the building. The other partners include Black business owners Alicia Belton of Urban Design Perspectives and Janice Downing of CommonSense Consulting@Work along with Shanelle Montana, co-founder of Du Nord Social Spirits. . The project received help from the Minneapolis Foundation, McKnight Foundation and Hennepin County, among other sources.

One Southside, 1010 E. Lake St. The planned 30,000-square-foot clinic at Lake and 10th Avenue S. near Allina Health and Abbott Northwestern Hospital was previously home to a Family Dollar store that was destroyed in the riots. Southside is leasing the site from Ryan Cos., which owns the site and involved in the redevelopment. July is the planned date for groundbreaking.

Opportunity Crossing, 3030 Nicollet Av. This is an affordable housing project on the former Wells Fargo site near the old Kmart led by nonprofit PPL. While the project was announced in April 2021, the site remains an open field. Partners are shooting for an early summer groundbreaking. The project has received a $750,000 Main Street grant. The first phase would be 110 apartments plus a Wells Fargo bank branch and other commercial space.

Former U.S. Bank branch, 2800 E. Lake St. U.S. Bank donated the land to Redesign in November 2021. There is no definite redevelopment plan yet, although Redesign officials say they have talked to potential partners.

Wadaag Commons, 1900 E. 22nd St. A co-development partnership between Redesign and Noor Cos., a Somali American/woman-owned organization, the plan is for 39 units of affordable housing. It is the final piece of the larger Seward Commons project. Construction should start soon.

Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center, 3749 Chicago Av. CAFAC is largely done with its Parking Yard expansion project, upgrading what had been a gravel lot next to the building. Added is a small storage building and a rain garden, funded by a $150,000 Main Street development grant. The center raised $550,000 from a number a sources to pay for the redevelopment of the center.

Eat Street Crossing, 2819 Nicollet Av. The 15,000-square-foot food hall is a reuse of the former Old Arizona Studios. It received a $750,000 Main Street grant toward the remodeling and opened a year ago.

Belfry Apartments, 3901 Chicago Av. This 41-unit affordable housing complex is on property that was owned by Calvary Lutheran Church, sold to and developed by Trellis Co. It opened in December.

Gandhi Mahal building, 3009 27th Av. $1 million of at least $5 million has been raised to rebuild the restaurant, with plans for a 14,000-square-foot project with Pangea World Theater called the Center for Peace and Social Justice.