Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, along with mpls downtown council and Mpls Downtown Improvement District President and CEO Steve Cramer and the Nicollet Mall renovation team, today kicked off the final stretch of the project’s construction, which will be substantially complete by November 2017.
In addition, the team unveiled a new creative messaging campaign that will be displayed on billboards and in storefront windows along Nicollet. The campaign will display reassuring messages, including one featuring the Mary Tyler Moore statue with “We’re going to make it after all.”
“The renovation of Nicollet Mall has an end date in sight and we are proud that the project is coming in on-time and on-budget,” Mayor Hodges said. “The team is doing an amazing job and everything that Nicollet Mall has to offer will continue to remain accessible throughout the summer construction.”
Cafes on the mall will be open during construction and pedestrians will still be able to enjoy active use of all 12 blocks of Nicollet.
“This project has been a great team effort and we look forward to seeing the project come into focus as we add new features throughout the summer months,” Cramer said. “In the next few months trees will be planted, street lights will be added, furniture and signage will be put in place, and by fall most of the artwork will be restored and installed on Nicollet.”
“As we look at the amazing opportunities on the horizon for the City of Minneapolis, from the $1 billion in new construction to the hundreds of thousands coming to our city for major sports events next year, the new Nicollet will be front and center as the shining star at the heart of our city,” said Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman.
Creative Campaign Features End is in Sight
The creative campaign for Nicollet was developed by creative agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt (GdB) to highlight some of the features of the new Nicollet. The campaign will start with a nod toward the continued construction phase and tongue in cheek slogans alluding to the community’s “patience” for the project. Different versions of the campaign will be rolled out throughout the summer as certain features are added to Nicollet.
