This week, demolition crews dismantled the old Kmart structure on Lake Street in Minneapolis, a process that spanned several days. Long earmarked for demolition and redevelopment, the urgency to tear down the site increased following a fire last month that inflicted damage on the empty building. Despite investigations by the fire department, the cause of the fire remained undetermined.

On Tuesday, two excavators commenced the demolition of the building’s walls, reducing the building to large mounds of debris by Thursday morning. Rebecca Parrell, a project supervisor with the Minneapolis city, reported that the demolition proceeded without any issues. As seen below, the once infamous building is now no more.

The demolition was planned to take seven days, with the city contractor being particularly careful to clear any residual burned materials. The next step involves the city contractor removing the debris over the next several weeks. The demolition of the old Kmart opens up possibilities for reopening a section of Nicollet Avenue, which has been obstructed by the building for over 45 years.

An update on the site’s major redevelopment project is expected in February 2024, when the public works department will reveal their proposed design for the new street layout. From a traffic perspective, this development could lead to easier times for users of Minneapolis’s road users.