$3 Million renovations set for Hi-Lake shopping center

Wellington Management, Inc. announced Sept. 15 that it has purchased the Hi-Lake Shopping Center, a 7.91-acre site at the corner of Hiawatha Avenue and Lake Street. The site was previously owned by the Erling E. Rice Limited Partnership.

The shopping center is located immediately west of the new Lake Street light rail station. The center is currently 95 percent occupied with a number of long-term tenants, including Savers Department Store, True Value Hardware, Subway sandwich shop, Fashion Express and the Green Institute's Re-Use Center.

Wellington Management, Inc. will begin a $3.0 million renovation project by Oct. 1, with a scheduled completion date of April 2005. The renovation will provide a major facelift to the entire center that will make the center more accessible to pedestrians and LRT riders as well as improve the appearance and overall design. The plan includes new landscaping, new and increased lighting and a new façade for the entire center. The improvements to the parking area include a pedestrian spine that will provide a landscaped, lighted path from Lake Street through the parking lot to the existing stores. Currently, there is a large open asphalt parking lot that borders Lake Street between Hiawatha and 21st Avenue, making it both unsightly and inconvenient for transit riders or pedestrians who want to visit the stores. Wellington Management also plans to invest up to $120,000 in environmental clean-up.

Two other new planned additions to the site will be an Aldi grocery store, similar to the one now under construction on Franklin Avenue in the Philips neighborhood and a new bus stop that will physically adjoin the Aldi store. The Aldi grocery store concept is one of a limited assortment of private-label quality brands with daily low prices. Because of its philosophy of focusing on the basic groceries people buy every week, Aldi stores operate in a much smaller physical space than comparable large discount chains. Aldi stores are designed to allow customers to shop conveniently for everything from bakery and deli goods to canned and frozen foods without having to wade through a large store with many items they don't need. And, unlike most small convenience stores in urban locations, Aldi's prices reflect private-label brand discounts similar to larger warehouse style stores.

Some unique cost-cutting and environmental features include a cart rental feature—the customer rents a cart for a quarter, getting their money back when the cart is returned in the store (also minimizing theft and cart litter). Aldi, part of German based Aldi International, currently has stores in Little Canada, Inver Grove Heights, Minnetonka and Champlin and has plans to expand throughout the Twin Cities. The Aldi store will be located at Lake and 21st Avenue, a former Burger King site, vacant since a fire destroyed the building a few years ago.

Steve Wellington, CEO of Wellington Management, Inc., said, "We are very pleased to tackle the revitalization of this landmark shopping center. The new Hi-Lake shopping center will complement the new midtown YWCA as well as the new Hiawatha light rail. We are excited about the opportunity to improve what has been essentially a neglected area and to invest in this rapidly improving core city neighborhood," said Wellington. "In the future, we are also hoping to add over 100 units of multistory housing, which could start construction as early as mid-2005. We have been attending neighborhood meetings and appreciate the support for our plans to date. We look forward to further developing a longer-range plan for Hi-Lake that will include input from the current and future tenants, neighbors and local government representatives."