The city of Minneapolis will purchase the Speedway gas station at the intersection where George Floyd was killed at the hands of police.
The city plans to transform the location into a racial justice healing center and a permanent memorial for Floyd, CBS News reported.
A unanimous vote by the City Council confirmed the approval of the purchase of the gas station, which will now be called George Floyd Square. Since the viral recording of Floyd’s death in 2020, the area has become a protest site.
The project is expected to cost $200,000 in taxpayer money, that’s if the city accepts a $420,000 donation from the entity that owns the parcel, The Star Tribune reported.
California real estate investment group Realty Income Corp. currently owns the land and said it wants to unload the property. One reason is that there are liability concerns, city documents detailed. Earlier this year, a man’s body was discovered inside the building. He died from a fentanyl overdose, prosecutors say.
Activists have their own concerns, with some saying the city’s involvement in purchasing and operating the property may taint the protest and community space that has come from Floyd’s death.
If carried out, the acquisition is expected to happen in the first few months of next year. Notably, the city previously said the full timeline will be a lengthy community-based process, possibly a few years to complete.
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