Minneapolis provided the first look at what is to become of the former Kmart site on Nicollet Avenue and Lake Street. “New Nicollet” will again serve as a commercial and cultural crossroad, but it will be a while before any of it comes to fruition.

The plan, unveiled Tuesday during a public event at Whittier International Elementary School, will redevelop the former home of Kmart along Lake Street and reconnect Nicollet Avenue, which was closed off in 1977 when the Kmart was constructed.

An eyesore in south Minneapolis is about to get a makeover. The city just unveiled new drawings of a plan to reopen Nicollet Avenue. For decades, a Kmart store and parking lot blocked the road. The plan incorporates housing,