Minneapolis releases timeline for developing George Floyd Square

Permanent development on George Floyd Square won’t start until 2025, according to a timeline of Minneapolis’ community engagement process that was made public Thursday.

The intersection of 38th Street East and Chicago Avenue South has been a makeshift memorial since George Floyd’s murder at that location on May 25, 2020. Talks of developing the area into a space that accommodates a permanent memorial and regular street traffic have been in the works for almost two years, but an end date now appears to be in sight.

The framework is split into four phases, starting with community discussion in the immediate term, followed by developing a vision for the site in spring 2024 and creating a “Community Priorities and Vision document” as a lodestar for the project.

Designs for memorials and right-of-way infrastructure — such as the roadway, sidewalk, alleys and utilities — will take shape from 2024-25, with construction scheduled to begin in 2025.

Part of the process includes selecting a “community-centered owner” for Peoples Way, the former Speedway gas station across the street from where George Floyd was murdered. The city purchased the property for $200,000 in June.

The Peoples Way site will eventually become a public space for racial justice and healing, according to the community engagement framework.