The city of Minneapolis has announced that it’s moving forward with the redesign of George Floyd Square in honor of George Floyd, the convicted criminal and fentanyl addict who died in police custody in 2020.
The announcement was made on Monday via a tweet.
“From a place of protest and mourning to a living memorial with global significance, plans for George Floyd Square are moving forward,” the city tweeted that afternoon.
From a place of protest and mourning to a living memorial with global significance, plans for George Floyd Square are moving forward. Shaped by years of care, conversation and shared hope, the City advances a community-led vision. Learn more https://t.co/j7waiAEezL pic.twitter.com/suL5DGsUAG
— City of Minneapolis (@CityMinneapolis) December 22, 2025
The announcement came a bit over a week after the Minneapolis City Council voted to move forward with big plans for George Floyd Square.
“Under the plan, Metro Transit service will be restored along Chicago Avenue, but no vehicle traffic will cross the location where George Floyd was murdered more than five years ago,” according to CBS News.
“The plan allows for the intersection to be closed for public gatherings and expands space for memorials and art,” the reporting continues.
It’s known as the “flexible open street design” plan.
George Floyd Square, situated at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue, launched as a memorial and protest site immediately following George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
Locals soon began leaving flowers, artwork, and messages at the square. In the days and weeks after, they erected barricades to block vehicular traffic, transforming the intersection into an occupied memorial space known as George Floyd Square.
According to journalist Christopher Rufo, over the years George Floyd Square has turned into a veritable s-hole.
It’s a bleak scene at George Floyd Square. Businesses shuttered. Migrants selling clothes on the side of the road. Addicts lighting a bonfire in the gas station parking lot. pic.twitter.com/uF7Ufos6XG
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@christopherrufo) October 15, 2025
“The intersection at 38th Street and Chicago Avenue now has an eerie feeling, as if the George Floyd moment were frozen in time,” Rufo recently wrote for City Journal.
“A shattered window at Unity Foods has remained unrepaired for five years. The graffiti on the bus-stop shelters has started to chip and peel. The slogans scrawled on the gas station walls are fading reminders of the naive ebullience of that early moment,” he added.
Part of the reason for the square’s decline was disagreement over how to proceed.
“In the frenzied year of 2020, politicians in Minneapolis and the Minnesota state government made grand promises about what George Floyd Square would become,” Rufo explained. “They purchased property and pledged monuments.”
“Then, as the years passed, their political will evaporated and everything ground to a halt. One city official told me the neighborhood wanted to reopen for business, while political leaders wanted to preserve the square as an ideological symbol. The result: nobody got what he wanted,” Rufo added.
Indeed, the Minneapolis City Council’s recent decision to move forward with a plan only came after a heated debate that pitched one plan by Mayor Jacob Frey’s administration against another plan put forward by the Community Visioning Council, a group made up of Floyd protesters.
🚨 NEW: Five years later, the Minneapolis City Council has blown $3.4 MILLION just planning for how to address George Floyd Square, and they still have not reached a consensus. pic.twitter.com/mcB4wYcqBY
— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) November 21, 2025
City leaders celebrated the council’s decision.
“Thousands of voices shaped this plan, and today we turned years of work into real progress,” Mayor Frey said in a statement reported by station KMSP. “Approving the flexible open option means we are finally moving forward together.”
“I am so excited about the approval of the flexible open option for George Floyd Square/38th and Chicago,” City Council member Andrea Jenkins added. “This action represents a victory for community voices and a commitment to the future of this sacred space.”
“Throughout years of engagement, the residents, business owners, and stakeholders of Ward 8 made it overwhelmingly clear that they wanted a solution that honors George Floyd’s memory while supporting the economic vitality of our neighborhood. This flexible approach does exactly that; it preserves the square as a place of reflection and remembrance while creating opportunities for black-owned businesses to thrive and our community to gather,” she added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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