Minneapolis City Council OKs deal to close Minnesota's last Kmart

The Minneapolis City Council on Friday approved the termination of its lease agreement with Kmart. The city will pay more than $9 million to end the contract the city signed over 40 years ago.

The store sits near Nicollet Avenue and East Lake Street. The deal, announced by city leaders last week, will tear down the store and reopen Nicollet.

City Council President Lisa Bender said while she's excited to see new development in the area, she says the city wants to avoid displacing residents.

"The people who live there today, who own the businesses today, will be front and center in especially putting every measure we can in place to ensure this is an inclusive and affordable and welcoming place for the people who are there today going forward,” she said.

City officials say the demolition will start later this year. David Frank, the city's director of community planning and economic development, said last week that workers at the last Kmart store in Minnesota are informed of the plans and will be put in touch with the state services for dislocated workers.

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