Why Minneapolis has decided to buy gas station at site where Floyd was killed

The gas station at the intersection where George Floyd was killed will be purchased by the city of Minneapolis, The Associated Press reported. Officials plan to convert the Speedway gas station into a racial justice healing center as well as a permanent memorial for Floyd.

Floyd, 46, lost his life on May 25, 2020, after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for over nine minutes despite the Black man repeatedly telling him that he couldn’t breathe. 

The intersection where he was killed is now called the George Floyd Square. And the decision to purchase the gas station came after the City Council passed a unanimous vote on August 8. The area in question has turned into a protest spot following the Black man’s death. 

The cost for the project is estimated at $200,000 if the city agrees to receive a $420,000 donation from owners of the site, the Star Tribune reported. But the land’s soil could be contaminated because of what it was initially used for. 

City documents state that the owners of the gas station – Realty Income Corp. – decided to sell the property partly as a result of worries over liability. A man’s body was found on the property in March, and prosecutors said he died as a result of overdosing on fentanyl.

But some activists argue that the city’s decision to purchase the gas station could dent the organic origins of the protest and community space, The Associated Press reported. Floyd’s death sparked protests both within and outside the United States in what was a year of racial reckoning.

Chauvin received a 22 and half-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of murder and manslaughter. Three other former Minneapolis police officers have also been convicted in connection with the Black man’s killing.