MPR News Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner signs off

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

 a block from the State Capitol says it’s planning a mixed-use development for the site. 

The Rondo Community Land Trust bought the 17-acre site for about $10 million, according to President and CEO Mikeya Griffin. 

“This is a major milestone for the Rondo community,” Griffin said. 

Griffin said the land trust is planning a community engagement process to talk with local residents and other stakeholders about what’s next for the site.

“Still a lot that we’re working through, but we are excited about the direction and confident in what this site can become,” Griffin said. “This is an opportunity to create something that connects history, community and economic activity in a meaningful way.”

The Sears building has sat empty since the store closed in 2019. The land has changed hands several times since then. 

The land trust bought the site from the nonprofit Asian Media Access, which held events on the property and had initiated a planning process for what to build there, but had not started development. 

Rondo land trust purchases empty St. Paul Sears building

Griffin said she’s excited to see the new development reflect the neighborhood that used to be there. Before it was a Sears, the lot was part of the historic 

, a majority Black community that boasted thousands of homes and businesses. Many were displaced when Interstate 94 was built through the neighborhood in the 1960s. 

“It is an opportunity for us to return land to community-centered stewardship, and shaping the future of what district-level development can look like,” Griffin said. 

She said this is the land trust’s largest acquisition to date.

Business and Economic News

Minnesota News

Twin Cities News

NewsPartners

Homepage

St. Paul News

Estelle Timar-Wilcox

Author

The Rondo Community Land Trust plans to build a mixed-use development on the long-vacant site of a former Sears store.

Exterior of a tan cement and brick building that formerly housed a Sears store.

Mixed-use development planned for long-vacant St. Paul Sears site

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox