Blueprint for the future: George Floyd Square redevelopment taking steps forward
At 38th and Chicago, George Floyd’s presence is everywhere.
People visit there from around the world to see the memorial — the place where he took his last breath.
“It wakes you up with what’s going on and what’s still happening,” says Amaya Gray from Memphis. “Just being here in the moment with George Floyd and the impact that this has had on this community itself. It’s something I think is bigger than me.”
But now, after years of planning, a blueprint for the future.
The City of Minneapolis is sharing a draft of a final vision document and a recommended street design.
“I think it’s a really special moment in our city,” explains Alexander Kado, the senior project manager with the Minneapolis Office of Public Service. “Our city [is] really trying to struggle with what do we do, what is the path moving forward.”
City staffers, working in tandem with the Floyd family, will work to improve the memorial area and make it more pedestrian-friendly.
The raised fist will remain in the intersection, and smaller versions will stay on the four roads that connect there.
“We at the city feel very strongly that we should not be designing a memorial or memorials at that square but supporting the community and artists as they design that,” Kado notes.
“So, it’s community love, community understanding but also coming together,” added Tyara Moore, also from Memphis. “Recognizing something happened so detrimental and groundbreaking to the United States.”
The project includes a redesign of 38th Street from Park Avenue and 10th Avenue, and Chicago Avenue, between 37th Street and 39th Street.
“Some of the things we’re doing are reducing the travel lanes, creating hump points, and also raised intersections,” Kado explains. “It is still open to vehicle traffic, to transit, to bikers, to walkers and pedestrians, so that the street will have through vehicle traffic. These are design cues that really force motorists to slow down.”
The plan also includes requests for proposals from a community-centered owner to purchase and develop the Peoples’ Way site — a former gas station that’s become a place for community gatherings.
Bus transit will be reintroduced to the area for the first time in years.
It’s hoped these steps will help boost the businesses around the square.
“It’s almost like a fresh coat of paint over it,” says Stephen Payne from Brooklyn Park. “I think it’s going to look very nice when it’s all said and done. Draw more people here.”
The project has cost around $5 million so far and is expected to cost millions more.
Kado says the final vision document will be shared with the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on Nov. 12.
On Nov. 21, the Council’s Climate and Infrastructure Committee will vote on the recommended street design.
If all goes as planned, construction could begin shortly after the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder next May.
That work will likely continue into 2026.
“I think it’s really a balance,” Kado says. “How do you make this space work to the people that live and work there? But also for people who came all over the world to this space. And it’s really kind of juggling those dynamic elements.”
You can view the full vision document from the city below: