Farewell to a Lake Street icon: Watch former Minneapolis Kmart building demolition
Crews this week demolished the former Kmart building on Lake Street in Minneapolis over the course of several days.
The site has long been slated for demolition and redevelopment, but that timeline was accelerated in the wake of a fire that damaged the vacant building last month. The fire department investigated, but could not determine the cause of the fire.
Two excavators began tearing down the building’s walls on Tuesday, and by Thursday morning the structure had been reduced to heaping piles of rubble.
Rebecca Parrell, a project supervisor with the city of Minneapolis, told MPR News that the demolition went smoothly.
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“It was pretty boring and pretty straightforward,” Parrell said.
The project budgeted seven days for the demolition, and the city contractor took extra precautions to remove any burned material that remained on the site. Next, the city contractor will haul away the remaining rubble piles over the course of several weeks.
The removal of the former Kmart brings the opportunity to reopen a stretch of Nicollet Avenue, which the building has blocked since it was built more than 45 years ago.
The next major redevelopment project announcement involving the site will be in February 2024, when the public works department will share their recommended layout for the new street design.
People can visit the city’s website to learn more.