Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup - A Discussion With Co-chair Gabrielle Grier
Monday, May 15, 2023 at 4:38AMArticle by Becky Fillinger, photos provided
Gabrielle GrierIn December, 2022 a task force was formed to figure out how to revive retail in downtown Minneapolis, both at the street and skyway levels. We talked to co-chair Gabrielle Grier about the work being done by the task force, how input is gathered and when to expect a report on their findings.
Q: You’re co-chair of the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup, along with Steve Cramer, President and CEO of the Minneapolis Downtown Council. Please tell us more about the Workgroup – how often will you meet, is the public invited to attend and how you’ll solicit input from additional stakeholders.
A: The purpose of this Work Group is to develop pragmatic, implementable recommendations for a more vibrant downtown Minneapolis. It is Mayor Frey facilitated and yes, chaired by myself and Steve Cramer, President and CEO of the Downtown Council.
Press event introducing the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup
We see this work as a guide that will help reduce storefront vacancy and increase pedestrian life and vitality at the street and skyway levels in downtown Minneapolis. This Workgroup will consider the market realities of Downtown retail and office space, the experiences and approaches of other U.S. cities, the important role of the creative/entrepreneurial industry, and the deep knowledge of Downtown residents, all with the goal of identifying realistic options and next steps for moving Downtown Minneapolis towards a vibrant, 24/7 mixed-use neighborhood in the coming years and decades.
A Workgroup session
We meet monthly with roughly 40 workgroup members across creative and design industries, property owners, city, and council members. We also conducted a series of listening sessions in March which spanned residents, workers in creative and design industries, and the general community.
Q: Other cities have worked to expose secret retail – putting businesses at pedestrian level - to help maintain downtown vibrancy. Will that be a topic for the Minneapolis Workgroup?
A: I think there are a number of really exciting ways that other cities are thinking about vibrancy and innovation that Minneapolis can learn from. Most importantly, the concept of retail has shifted significantly in the last several years, being driven and informed significantly by digital marketing and selling of goods; I mean you can get your groceries delivered in a matter of minutes, that wasn’t true 5 years ago. So - I think it will be important for us to spice up the definition of retail, consider it in the intersection of other experiential opportunities like food, arts, and culture…that to me is the next wave of in-person retail! Can people have an experience and meet artists, and culinary masters during their Saturday morning shopping outing? I think so!
We want to get behind defining how to keep business thriving, how to ensure that people want to be downtown, that it becomes a part of our weekly lives, that can only happen when we are in conversations with diverse groups of people and are making spaces for everyone to benefit from the flavors of downtown Minneapolis. That to me is beyond retail.
Q: You were the Managing Director of Juxtaposition Arts for 3 successful years - congratulations! Will you bring those sensibilities - fusing arts and culture - to the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup project?
A: Absolutely. Given the opportunity to be a part of how Roger Cummings and the team at JXTA considers that there are no mutually exclusive lines of thought - in art, in design, etc. - is now a part of my lived experience. It is not that those concepts are new to the arts world, but it is important to have been in a space that does not believe in stagnation and anchoring. In practice for me – it was essential and necessary to see the intersections of retail, space design, culture, and people.
Q: How may we follow news of the Vibrant Downtown Storefronts Workgroup?
A: We will be generating a report this summer that will be available on the City of Minneapolis website and the Downtown Council website, so any information regarding our findings will be available there. We will also be sharing the insights and action plans associated with the outcomes created by the Workgroup in June, 2023 press conference.
