Dollar Tree coming to part of former Shopko space

Sarah Stultz, Albert Lea Tribune, Minn.
·2 min read

Jul. 27—Albert Lea will soon be home to a second Dollar Tree, the owner of Northbridge Mall announced Wednesday.

Chad Christensen, regional director of real estate with The Carrington Co., said the company will lease about 15,000 square feet of space in the former Shopko building next to Harbor Freight Tools and Big Lots.

Christensen said Dollar Tree was drawn to the northern part of town because of the momentum the area is seeing with the addition of Harbor Freight and Big Lots. The company also wanted to be near Hy-Vee grocery store and is slated to open in February 2023.

"It's been a long process getting to this point, but we're very pleased with the new leasing activity, and we're excited with the future of Northbridge Mall," Christensen said.

Dollar Tree is a national company with thousands of stores in 48 states. Albert Lea's first Dollar Store is on Hendrickson Road in a strip mall near Walmart.

The announcement of the store completes the leasing of all of the former Shopko building, which The Carrington Co. purchased next to the mall in September and has been actively working to fill ever since.

The first store to occupy part of the space, Harbor Freight, opened last week in 18,500 square feet, and Big Lots is slated to open in about 30,000 square feet of space in the center of the building near Halloween.

In addition to the larger stores at the mall, Christensen said there has been some rejuvenation inside the mall with three new leases, and the owners continue to aggressively look to lease additional space.

He said a new hair salon will soon be joining the mall, and D&D Boutique and The Humble Heart Home Goods have signed longterm leases. The boutique and The Humble Heart previously had been open under seasonal leases but have found solid success and have now signed longterm leases, he said.

People can also expect to see the parking lot replaced on the west side of the mall yet this summer, and the company is working with Ulland Bros. now to schedule that, he said.

New medical-based businesses have also been filling up the south end of the mall owned by the Albert Lea Healthcare Coalition.