The grocery chain Hy-Vee will be renovating the old Rainbow and Slumberland stores at Central Avenue NE and 43rd Avenue NE, pending approval of the Columbia Heights Planning and Zoning Commission on September 6 and City Council approval at their September 12 meeting. The company filed a formal application for site plan review on August 1 and is in the process of purchasing the entire Central Valu shopping center from Brixmor Property Group, according to Joe Hogeboom, Columbia Heights’ Community Development Director.
The plans show a remodel of the space that had been occupied by Rainbow and Slumberland, and an expansion at the back of those two buildings, for a total of nearly 95,000 square feet of grocery store. The rest of the property, which currently houses Frattallone’s Ace Hardware, Meineke and Dollar Tree, will not be altered, according to the plans. Construction is expected to start soon after approval, Hogeboom said, although he is uncertain about the projected opening date.
Hogeboom said that the plans for the grocery store include a full-service, sit-down restaurant with outdoor seating and a patio. He expects that the store will be modeled on the prototype the chain has used in its Twin Cities stores, included what he called a mini-food court with global food choices, and a “bakery on steroids,” as he put it.
The news was announced at the meeting of Heights’ Economic Development Authority meeting on August 1, the same day as Robbinsdale’s City Council’s preliminary and controversial approval of Hy-Vee’s plans to build a store at the site of the Terrace Theatre. The Robbinsdale decision was met with much opposition to tearing down the historic theater, according to local media reports.
There seems to be much less controversy surrounding the proposed Heights store, judging from reactions on social media, as well as the feedback that Hogeboom says his department has received. The prospect of a new Heights grocery store, and of a Hy-Vee in particular, appears to be going over well with area residents.
“I’ve never seen such excitement over a retail establishment. It’s beyond belief,” Hogeboom said, referring to the many calls and questions that have come his way since the announcement.
Connie Buesgens, who founded HeightsNEXT, a group that aims to attract new businesses, foster sustainability and build community in Columbia Heights, said that there were hundreds of shares about Hy-Vee after she posted the announcement on the group’s Facebook page, and that almost all comments have been extremely positive. Buesgens was recently appointed to the Columbia Heights Planning and Zoning Commission and is running for City Council.
Columbia Heights resident Sunshine Carter was pleasantly surprised to hear the news, she said, especially since just a few days earlier as she and her husband were driving by the site he commented, “That would be a great place for a Hy-Vee.” They both were Hy-Vee shoppers 15 years ago when they were students in Ames, Iowa.
Carter said that it would be exciting to have a new shopping option in the city. Presently they go to St. Anthony Village for food shopping because of limited choices in Columbia Heights, with no other full-service grocery stores. She expects that the Hy-Vee will attract shoppers from outside of Columbia Heights. “It’s a coup for the city,” she said.
Carter also expressed the main concern that has surfaced on social media, the possible loss of the other businesses at the site, particularly Frattallone’s Ace Hardware.
“We try to shop as locally as possible, and that’s our primary hardware store,” she said. The store is one of a chain of 21 hardware stores in the Twin Cities and surrounding suburbs that is owned by a metro area family.
City Planner Elizabeth Holmbeck said that that earlier in the process Hy-Vee had been interested in the entire shopping center building and had been in negotiations with the remaining businesses about relocation. The fact that the plans the company filed are for a remodel of only the two larger stores and leave the rest of the shopping area intact may mean a change in their plans for the tenants, she said, but stressed that she did not know for certain Hy-Vee’s intentions.
Tara Deering-Hansen, Hy-Vee’s group vice president of communications was not willing to comment about the negotiations, nor was Mike Frattallone, one of the owners of the hardware store chain. Frattallone was, however, willing to talk about the future. “We’re planning on being there for many, many years,” he said. “We’re very excited to be next to a beautiful new grocery store,” he added.
Hogeboom said that the city had reached out to Hy-Vee in 2014 after Rainbow Foods closed as part of downsizing Roundy’s Supermarkets. Hy-Vee, which was just getting established with a few stores in the metro area, wasn’t interested at that point, but early this year the city touched based with them again about the Central Valu site. In the course of discussions since then, no city subsidies or incentives have been offered or been asked for, Hogeboom said.
He said that he expects that the development will bring hundreds of jobs, because Hy-Vee, an employee-owned company based in Des Moines, Iowa, has a philosophy of hiring locally. He also thinks that the grocery store’s presence will make the city more desirable to other new businesses. “I’m really excited about this because this site is such an anchor for the whole street, and the fact that there is such a high visible vacancy does not look good,” he said.
“When something as nice as Hy-Vee comes in, it will really be a shot in the arm for the whole corridor,” Hogeboom said.