Post in Lund's, Hyatt: We'll Build Downtown at Penfield

Dec 01 22:38 UTC

Finally, it's public!  A Lund's, a Hyatt Place Hotel, and an apartment
complex are coming to the Fitzgerald Park neighborhood in downtown, it
was announced today.

It's a huge victory for downtown's future, for the Fitzgerald Park
area, and the future of Saint Paul in general.  Downtown has long
suffered from the perception that it is not a true residential
neighborhood, and offered little in the way of residential amenities,
which has most certainly held back downtown's residential position in
the regional marketplace.  This project reaffirms downtown's central
place in the life of the Twin Cities.

Even with all the merits of downtown housing, turning parking lots
into housing downtown is a very challenging proposition.  You take the
neighborhood's existing assets, try to leverage them, expand upon
them, and perhaps most strikingly work through a variety of opinions
on how to move the neighborhood forward among all the institutional
players who have a stake in downtown.

To see this kind of proposal come forward now from this very respected
group of people reaffirms the value of the hard work we have done
grappling with alternatives to move the neighborhood forward.  It has
been my understanding that Lund's chose that location explicitly
because of plans for Fitzgerald Park, which is slated to be built
right across the street.

Thanks in particular to Dave Thune, among many others, for his hard
work getting us to this point.  And the Mayor and City Council and Bob
Lux, and on....  I'm lucky to have had the chance to watch this unfold
and be part of such a talented group of people.

Cheers!
Bob

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DOWNTOWN SAINT PAUL TO GET LUND'S GROCERY STORE
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11113507

Upscale grocer Lunds is on the way to downtown St. Paul.

Edina-based Lund Food Holdings, Inc. announced this afternoon that
it's building a full-service Lunds supermarket at 10th and Robert
streets in downtown at the upcoming Penfield.

Lund Food Holdings has signed a long-term lease agreement with
Penfield Development LLC. The approximately 30,000-square-foot
supermarket will be located on the main level of the Penfield, a full
city-block development bounded by 10th, Robert, Minnesota and 11th
Streets.

The development is also expected to include an upscale apartment
complex and a Hyatt Place Select Service hotel. Construction is slated
to begin next fall.

"Lunds is a mainstay for neighborhoods throughout the Twin Cities, and
this location will be no exception," said Bob Lux, a partner in
Penfield Development.