After two years and about $36 million, the rebuilt stretch of Hennepin Avenue South reopened to two-way traffic at the end of October 2025.

The City of Minneapolis reconstructed Hennepin Avenue South between West Lake Street and Douglas Avenue, the corridor that forms the western edge of the Wedge and runs up toward the foot of Lowry Hill. The work was split into two phases: Phase 1, from Lake Street to 26th Street, finished in 2024, and Phase 2, from 26th Street to Douglas Avenue, was substantially completed in 2025. The city marked the reopening in late October 2025.
The new street replaces four lanes of traffic and on-street parking with two general traffic lanes, a rush-hour bus lane that doubles as parking outside peak periods, a two-way protected bikeway on the east side, raised medians and wider sidewalks.
For the Wedge and the blocks below Lowry Hill, the 2025 phase from 26th Street north was the one felt most directly, through closed lanes, relocated bus stops and construction noise. With the corridor reopened, the longer question is whether the redesign delivers what the city promised: faster buses in the dedicated lane, steady use of the protected bikeway and recovery for storefronts that endured two years of fenced sidewalks. The city's project page documents the final configuration.

The East Isles Neighborhood Association holds its annual Summer Social on Wednesday, June 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Joanne Levin Triangle Park, with a rain date of June 15.

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The Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association reviews apartment and land-use proposals in the Wedge through its Community Development Committee, the volunteer-led forum where the neighborhood weighs in before projects reach the City Council.

Land use is the recurring flashpoint in Lowry Hill, a neighborhood of Victorian and Prairie-style homes where even a modest multi-unit proposal draws scrutiny under the city's built-form rules and the 2040 comprehensive plan.