The Midway Is Changing. Longtime St. Paul Residents Are Asking Who the Development Is Really For.
The Midway neighborhood in St. Paul is undergoing significant change as the United Village development rises near Allianz Field while a neighboring block sits largely vacant following grocery and retail closures, sparking debate about who benefits from the investment and what the community has lost.
Misty Aoudia, 51, remembers when the Midway was the place to be: Dots, Rainbow Foods, Golden Gate, Payless, a bowling alley and a laundromat all within reach.
“It was just such a staple in the community,” she said. “The businesses were accessible and affordable.”
Since 2014, many of those stores have closed. The Metro Green Line, which opened that year connecting downtown St. Paul to downtown Minneapolis, marked a turning point for the neighborhood, Aoudia said.
“It was already downhill when I was raising my kids, with being economically depressed, but once the light rail came, you really started seeing it being downhill with a lot more drug usage and more people that were homeless and panhandling.”
In 2020, unrest and rioting struck the Midway following the murder of George Floyd less than 10 miles away. Aoudia moved from the area in 2012 but visits her 20-year-old daughter there regularly.
“I think I’ve noticed that you have a lot of have-nots and haves that separate the area,” she said.
A neighborhood in transition
On University Avenue, two superblocks between Hamline Avenue and Snelling Avenue are undergoing significant changes. The area, which once held shopping centers filled with stores, local businesses and entertainment venues, looks little like it used to.
One block is now home to Allianz Field, a loon statue, a playground and the long-anticipated United Village development, where construction cranes are now visible along the skyline. The adjacent block has seen the recent closure of a major grocery store and sits largely vacant.
Private landowner RK Midway acquired the first block, a 34.5-acre site, 10 acres of which are owned by Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit. Allianz Field, home to Major League Soccer’s Minnesota United FC, was completed in 2018 at a cost of $250 million in private funding. The city of St. Paul invested in pedestrian facilities, roads and stormwater systems on the site.
Bill McGuire, lead investor in Minnesota United and the driving force behind United Village, is now spending approximately $170 million to build two restaurants, an office building and a hotel near the intersection of Snelling and University avenues. All four buildings are under construction by Golden Valley-based Mortenson. Two restaurants, the Midway Diner and an Italian pizzeria, are expected to open this summer. A 160-room boutique hotel is targeted to open in early 2027.
Daniela Lorenz, a project manager for United Village with St. Paul’s Department of Planning and Economic Development, said feedback on the stadium and development has been mostly positive, with beneficial effects on surrounding businesses and transit.
Not everyone agrees.
Samantha Burnett, 32, a Minnesota resident who studied social justice at Hamline University, said she believes the development prioritizes aesthetics over community investment.
“When you update or upgrade in the area, it drives up the value, which means home costs might go up, business rent might go up,” she said. “If you’re not making that money, you can’t stay there anymore.”
Anne Draghine, 55, a former Midway resident, was blunter.
“They put it there in hopes of attracting business, that isn’t the business you needed to attract,” she said. “You need to take care of the people in your neighborhood.”
What’s coming, and what isn’t
For residents hoping a grocery store would eventually return to United Village, McGuire has provided a clear answer: it won’t. He has said a grocery store already exists in the Midway and therefore isn’t part of the United Village plan. An office building with a bakery on its ground floor is expected to open by late summer, and phase two ideas currently include a music and entertainment venue and possibly housing for neighborhood elders.
Greg Ellis, who has lived in St. Paul since 1992, acknowledged the activity but questioned what was lost in the process.
“All those options are gone and not in the neighborhood and haven’t been replaced,” he said.
Draghine said an office building and hotel do little for longtime residents. She called for the return of a bank, medical space and shopping, amenities people can actually use.
The neighboring block remains a concern
The eastern block, once home to Walmart, Cub Foods, Dollar Tree, Herberger’s and TJ Maxx, has seen most of its tenants close. No clear redevelopment plan has been announced for the site.
Lorenz said city officials are engaged, with Ward 1 Council Member Anika Bowie convening decision-makers to explore options. Lorenz said the short-term priority is filling the buildings with amenities residents relied on.
“I think it would be great to get a grocery store back in there because that was a huge loss for the area,” she said.
For residents who depend on public transportation, the closures have meant traveling farther for basic necessities.
“It’s a food desert. It’s a shopping desert,” Draghine said. “There’s none of the things that used to make Midway great there anymore.”
Lorenz said the city welcomes the scrutiny from residents.
“They’re watching and they are very interested in what’s happening on the block and want to make sure that it is an asset to the community.”
Damenica Ellis welcomes reader responses at dellis@spokesman-recorder.com.