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Council previews schematic design for Minneapolis Democracy Center at 3000 Minnehaha Avenue
Summary
City staff and architects presented a schematic design for the Minneapolis Democracy Center, a planned consolidated elections and voter services facility at 3000 Minnehaha Ave that would move election operations out of leased space and provide early voting, training, logistics and community space.
City property and elections officials on Monday showed the Committee of the Whole schematic designs for a new Minneapolis Democracy Center to be located at 3000 Minnehaha Avenue, outlining program elements, circulation, parking and an anticipated schedule to complete design and bid documents.
Barbara O’Brien, director of Property Services, introduced the project and said the building will consolidate election operations now spread across leased spaces. "This project allows for the consolidation of all election related functions and operations into a single space," Katie Smith, director of Elections and Voter Services, said. She told the committee the facility will house early voting, training for election judges, logistics and vote-by-mail operations and that the space is being designed to support both staff security and an open, accessible voter experience.
What the design shows: The schematic concept includes a roughly 19,000-square-foot two-story addition and reorientation of the existing roughly 39,700-square-foot building to create a prominent early voting entrance on the Snelling/Lake Street corner, a logistics area with a high-bay two-story space for equipment and machines, a secure vault on the lower level, a training room and administrative offices on upper floors, and a dedicated community space of roughly 7,500 square feet with a separate dock.
Parking and circulation: The design team said the site will include about 61 parking stalls and two dedicated drop-off spaces, with car circulation designed to move counterclockwise through the lot to separate drop-off, parking and loading. Architects said the main early-vote entrance will be highly visible to pedestrians and transit riders near the light-rail station and that logistics access was sited to serve large vehicles that deliver election equipment.
Timeline and procurement: Property Services said schematic design is complete and the team will advance to design development and construction documents with a goal of completing design work by the end of the year and issuing construction bid documents in early 2026. Staff said construction is intended to begin in 2026.
Community partner and uses: The project includes a street-level community space. Property Services said an RFP process to select a nonprofit community partner is underway; the department offered to provide a separate memo describing the partner-selection process and criteria. Council members asked questions about adaptive reuse versus new construction (the design includes new construction), how the existing facility would be used, and whether the project will include community meeting and program space.
Next steps: Staff said they will continue design development and bring construction bidding requests to the council in early 2026. Council members requested continued updates on signage and street-facing identity, parking impacts for nearby businesses, and the community-partner selection process.
