DID'S Nicollet Mall work lauded.

Byline: William Morris

By at least one measure, the street performers, festivals and farmers markets held in Minneapolis' Nicollet Mall rank among the best such events in North America.

The International Downtown Association, a network of 2,500 downtown management organizations primarily in the United States and Canada, has recognized Minneapolis' Downtown Improvement District with a Downtown Achievement Pinnacle Award for its efforts to activate Nicollet Avenue. Programming organized by Mpls DID, as it is known, since 2018 includes Theater in the Round performances, the Downtown Street Art Festival and Nicollet Makers Market as well as day-to-day performances by street musicians.

The award also acknowledges the physical space hosting the events, the result of a two-year, $50 million renovation project to remake the space as a pedestrian mall.

"The Mpls DID's innovative project received the IDA Pinnacle Award for setting the new standard for improving cities worldwide," said David Downey, IDA President and CEO, in a press release. "Nicollet activation has made an impact on its city and the people who live, work and play in the community, and demonstrates the continued commitment to champion livable, vital and thriving urban centers."

Minneapolis is hardly the first city to hit on the idea of holding community events in its downtown public spaces, Mpls DID/Minneapolis Downtown Council Executive Director Steve Cramer admits. What made the Mpls DID activation program stand out was the addition of a pop-up office in a vacant storefront at 6th and Nicollet where dedicated staff not only coordinate events but collect feedback from Nicollet Mall users and offers open houses and other activities.

"We are actually on the street with a DID office out of which some of these activation strategies can be deployed," Cramer said in an interview. "And it also...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT