MN United owner, city trade blame for demolition delays at St. Paul's Midway Shopping Center

Aug. 11—Little more than a year ago, officials in charge of the redevelopment of the Midway Shopping Center in St. Paul unveiled plans for the "United Villages at Midway," two towers of residential housing on top of a large podium of above-ground parking. Those plans called for 234 housing units between Spruce Tree Drive and Shields Avenue, where an old Big Top Liquors once was, in the shadow of a $250 million soccer stadium.

The vision was big — as in nine to 18 stories tall. And those big plans are officially off the table.

"We did away with that. There were things we didn't like about it," said Dr. Bill McGuire, owner of the Minnesota United professional soccer team and a driving force behind much of what happens in the 35-acre "Super Block" surrounding the 2-year-old stadium.

Speaking with reporters at Allianz Field on Tuesday, McGuire insisted he's still bullish on the redevelopment of the shopping center, which was heavily impacted by arson and looting following the death last year of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Four former tenants have sued McGuire, landlord RK Midway and associated property managers, claiming they were forced to permanently vacate viable storefronts after the riots. On the flip side, neighborhood groups have demanded to know why demolition and redevelopment aren't already underway.

In mid-May, the city ordered the vacant shopping center structures to be torn down by June 18. In early June, master developer M.A. Mortenson Co. of Golden Valley indicated demolition was a few days away, and top city planning officials predicted at the time big changes just over the horizon.

DEMOLITION PERMITS

Since then, crickets.

"We are not the impediment," said McGuire on Tuesday. "Just ask the city what's up. We're just waiting on the (demolition) permit. The permit (application) was submitted the first week in June."

So what's the holdup? The city's legislative hearing officer is scheduled to make a recommendation on Aug. 25 to the city council on "repair or removal," a forced condemnation process for the structures at 1484 W. University Ave. That's not typically necessary when a property owner has already submitted a permit request to demolish their own property.

A spokesperson for the city's Department of Safety and Inspections on Tuesday said the department could issue a demolition permit for the freestanding Big Top Liquors building as early as Friday, and soon after for the rest of the shopping center.

"The department's concerns related to the permits have revolved largely around public safety," said Suzanne Donovan, in an email. "The contractor had not provided all the necessary documentation to allow staff to issue the demolition permits."

Among the concerns, the city was waiting on confirmation that utilities throughout the demolition area had been disconnected, which could happen Thursday. In addition, "a pre-construction discussion must be held with the contractor to verify the staging and sequencing of the demolition operation ... will be completed safely," Donovan said.

REDEVELOPMENT FROM WEST TO EAST?

In an interview, McGuire acknowledged that a master planning process had long envisioned new real estate development progressing from the site's western edges along Snelling Avenue and traveling east toward Pascal Avenue over a period of five or six years. Now, it's those arson-singed eastern edges that could be demolished within a matter of days.

The shopping center's eastern border, where the Foot Locker and Peking Garden restaurant were located, were "always coming later," McGuire said. "It just changed because of the unfortunate circumstances."

Henry Parker, chair of the Union Park District Council, said in an email Wednesday that the neighborhood board was frustrated by the state of the blighted and vacant strip mall. "The length of time that has elapsed with no progress on the site is very disappointing and damaging to the community and businesses at large," said Parker, echoing a written statement shared with the city's legislative hearing officer last month.

"It is not neighborly to leave property in disrepair in such a prominent location," he added. "It is a blight that stymies other developments, lowers the values of surrounding properties, scares away customers from nearby businesses, and leaves a clear message to the local small business community that they are not welcome or appreciated. Many other properties in the area damaged at the same time have already been repaired."

McGuire on Tuesday joined former Best Buy executive Shari Ballard, the Loons' incoming chief executive officer, in a question-and-answer session. Ballard said she couldn't speak to the future of the "Super Block," but she's already fielding questions about its redevelopment, a good reminder that " 'listen, don't get so in love with this controlled space that you're oblivious to what's going on outside this controlled space.' ... I'm not going to make something up ... on my first day. I know Bill spends a ton of time on it. ... I just don't know."

McGuire later flashed a quick rendering off his cellphone of a single L-shaped apartment building, mostly residential, with staggered balconies protruding in such a way to create a relatively bold design for the Midway. He said he is still envisioning that structure to sit on a certain amount of podium parking, hugging Snelling Avenue. He declined to let a reporter take a picture of the concept design.

A second structure could offer office space above small food stalls on ground level, as well as "incubator" space for startup companies, he said.

"There's a couple buildings laid out, and they're funded," he said. "We have to wait for a couple things to happen first."

As for what would replace the western portion of the shopping center once it's demolished, McGuire kept fairly mum.

"We'll find somebody," he said. "There are things in the wind."