The Minneapolis Public Health & Safety Committee got a glimpse at plans for a new Lake Street Community Safety Center on Wednesday.

City Council set aside $500,000 for the project late last year. The funding was pulled from a pot of money that Mayor Jacob Frey’s office initially recommended go toward police officer recruitment and retention.

Office of Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette and Director of Design & Implementation Amanda Harrington on Wednesday, at council members’ request, gave an initial presentation about how that money would be spent instead on a second community safety center.

The plan is to open the Lake Street Community Safety Center this summer, Harrington said.

It would be temporary space at least until a permanent facility to replace the burned 3rd Police Precinct opens, she added. That is expected early to happen in early 2025.

“I don’t think that that means we’ll immediately close the Lake Street center, but it would be duplicative to have two sites open forever at the same time,” Harrington said in an interview after the committee meeting.

In the meantime, she said, the new community safety center, “will help the police, it will help the business owners, it will help those who live in that area.”

There was once a Midtown Safety Center in that area on Chicago Avenue at Lake Street.

It was established in 2005, according to Commissioner Barnette. The building later burned in 2020 during unrest that erupted following the murder of George Floyd.

Harrington told City Council members they’ve picked a new building to transform into a Lake Street Community Center. She and Barnette wouldn’t share the address, citing ongoing negotiations with the owner, but 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS confirmed it’s on Lake Street between 35W and Hiawatha Avenue, not far from the charred former 3rd Police Precinct building.

For now, it’s unclear what will be inside the new center, but Harrington said she envisions it to be different from the previous space which was mostly police and justice services.

“I think community needs now have shifted,” she explained, adding, “There has to be an element of police because that’s what people are asking for. But it’s never meant to be a substation where they’re there all the time.”

Harrington cited conversations that she started with several potential community partners. The building the city hopes to purchase shouldn’t need much work, she added, explaining the quick timeline.

Community engagement is expected to start within a month or so.