The Minneapolis Downtown Council is kicking off a new plan to revitalize the city center, with goals to get more people and more energy into the city by 2035. 

The 131-page plan published this week includes continued work on public safety, countering homelessness and filling office buildings that emptied during the pandemic. But it has flashier goals, too: a skating rink, a pedestrian-only Nicollet Avenue corridor and a Michelin-star restaurant.

“The plan is a starting point,” said Adam Duininck, president of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. “It’s a way to engage people on really big issues.”

It’s a vision for a downtown with more residents, more businesses and more tourism. The council shares that goal with city officials, who have been looking for ways to attract people to downtown since the pandemic sent workers home and emptied space in downtown’s skyways and offices.

Duininck said the Nicollet Avenue plan is high on the list. The recent corridor redesign, completed in 2017, turned the street into a bus-only road. Now, the downtown council is proposing a pedestrian-only mall, complete with green space and a dog park.

“It could serve as basically a park right out the front door of office spaces downtown,” Duininck said. “If we want to attract tenants, if we want people to lease down here, they want access to park space and green space. We could build that right as part of the main street.” 

That would take work with Metro Transit, since buses would need to reroute off Nicollet – plus redesigning and building the pedestrian space. 

Also on the list is a revamp of the skyways, which are owned by individual building owners in Minneapolis. The council says it’s looking to add better directions in the skyways, plus more regular hours. 

Another lofty goal: an overhaul of the riverfront post office. It serves as a U.S. Postal Service distribution center, but the downtown council says it’s taking up valuable riverfront space with limited public access. The plan notes it could take “a literal act of Congress” to repurpose the building. 

The plan also suggests converting commercial buildings to residential, as part of the downtown council’s goal to bring more than 40,000 residents to the city center. 

Safety is part of the plan, too. Duininck said that includes supporting the city’s efforts to hire on more police, plus other safety measures like mental health services and outreach to the city’s homeless population.

“Everybody needs to feel like you belong downtown, that there’s a place there for you as well. That means for our youth. That means for children and families. That means safety for visitors,” Duininck said.

Duininck said much of this work will happen in collaboration with the city. The council’s plan shares several goals with the city’s latest plan for downtown revitalization, published in October.

Shoppers looking to support small, local businesses following the rush of Black Friday got the opportunity this weekend.

Small Business Saturday is when small businesses offer deals during the busy holiday shopping season and encourage people to shop locally.

The state of Minnesota says there are 500,000 small businesses across the state, and in Minneapolis’ North Loop, 12 businesses hosted the ‘Shop Small Crawl.’

“Small Business Saturday creating a day that is intentionally focused on the small locally owned businesses is really huge,” said Rachel Cafferty, the owner of Story and Teller.

Cafferty opened the home goods shop online last year and then moved to North Loop about eight months ago.

Her business, along with her next-door neighbor Treats Cereal Bar & Boba and the Hewing Hotel, are just a few to host the Shop Small Crawl.

Visitors got a postcard and if they visited all 12 shops, they got the chance to win a prize valued at over $1,200. Shoppers who turned in their cards will find out if they won a prize next week.

The state of Minnesota says small businesses employ 75% of Minnesotans.

Many businesses are still trying to bounce back from the pandemic and deal with inflation, with so many relying on Small Business Saturday to help boost sales.

“Supporting small local businesses keeps those dollars in your community,” said Cafferty. “And having a dedicated day to really drum up support helps make sure that our doors stay open so we can continue to bring value and connection into our neighborhoods here in the Twin Cities.”