Businesses close, buildings demolished; stadium project moves into next stage

By JANE MCCLURE

Part of Midway Center is gone to make way for the Allianz Field Major League Soccer stadium. Demolition of storefronts west of Family Dollar began in late November. By month’s end, the wrecking crew had reached the old Rainbow grocery store, which was built in the 1950s as Murphy’s Department Store.

In the meantime, the remaining stores are letting customers know that they are open. An announcement in November by RD Management LLC indicates that while shopping center redevelopment is part of the plan for the property, it won’t happen until the stadium is completed in 2019. The announcement also lets prospective tenants know that space is available for pre-leasing in 2019.

RD Management owns Midway Center, which is on the block bounded by Pascal St. and St. Anthony, Snelling and University avenues. The company owns all but the former Metro Transit bus garage site in the southwest corner of the property.

In a mid-November announcement, RD Management stated, “With 20 acres zoned for multi-use, the company intends to add additional retail, office, residential, entertainment and hospitality options to its property following the completion of the adjacent Allianz Field. Construction of the $200 million soccer stadium will be completed in spring 2019 and will draw thousands of new visitors to the area.”

The development is being tracked closely by a Union Park District Council (UPDC)-Hamline Midway Coalition task force. UPDC Executive Director Julie Reiter said it’s encouraging to hear that redevelopment will move ahead. She noted there was a lot of community involvement in a master plan process that led up to City Council adoption of that plan in 2016. The plan initially showed high-rise office buildings along Snelling, as well as hotel space and retail/residential mixed-use development on much of the rest of the site. Other iterations have shown smaller-scale buildings.

“People are eager for redevelopment,” Reiter said.

“Our plan to expand the Midway/Allianz Field project and turn it into a mixed-use experience is an early-stage development that presents tremendous opportunity,” said Richard Birdoff, principal and president of RD Management. “Centrally located between two major cities with access to great public transportation, Midway will one day provide a modern live-work-play destination for locals and visitors to the beautiful new stadium next door. We look forward to growing our tenant-base to include sectors beyond retail while enhancing our current retail offerings.”

“This is a truly transit-oriented development that will be highlighted by the most attractive, newest soccer stadium in the U.S.,” said Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire. “The stadium will increase business for existing tenants, and once expanded, Midway and the stadium together will reinvigorate the neighborhood and advance the community.”

McGuire signed a master lease agreement with RD Management just days before an Aug. 20 project deadline. That allows for the demolition of Rainbow Foods and other businesses to the east. That in turn allowed stadium construction to move ahead. The master lease affects 15.6 acres of the shopping center property.

The lease doesn’t include land in the northeast corner of the site and along Snelling that was split off a few years ago. Those properties include the Big Top Liquor building and the former American Bank. Nor does it include the easternmost part of Midway Center, where businesses continue to operate.

During master lease discussions earlier this year, when the St. Paul Port Authority was involved, Port and Minnesota United officials discussed the complicated process. Midway Center is split into different parcels with different ownership structures and different mortgage issues.

The announcement states that new buildings will be built along Snelling Ave. “The current L-shaped space on the eastern side of the property with 20 active businesses will remain intact following the demolition of Rainbow, Walgreens, Home Choice and Big Top Liquor to make way for the new stadium.”

Home Choice, Rainbow Foods, Midway Pro Bowl and Walgreens moved out starting in late summer and fall. Pearle Vision, which is east of the former grocery store, is to move in the future. Big Top is not slated to move until next year. Most of the businesses that have moved have closed. Home Choice relocated to Roseville.

A Perkins restaurant along University Ave. closed this fall.