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MINNEAPOLIS-Construction is under way for Ryan Cos.' $190 million Midtown Exchange renovation project, the redevelopment of the former 1.1-million-sf Sears, Roebuck & Co. mall and mail order center. The completed project will include the headquarters of Allina Healthcare, a 136-room Sheraton Hotel, offices, 200,000 sf of retail, and more than 350 units of rental and ownership housing. The grand opening is slated for spring 2006.

Retailers and vendors hoping to become part of the Midtown Global Market, the 58,000-sf market portion of the development, will have an opportunity today from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to add their name to the growing list of tenants who have inked pre-rental agreements. Thus far, Bymore Meats, Cafeteria La Loma, Golden Thyme Coffee Cafe, Holy Land Grocery, Jakeeno's, Taqueria Los Ocampo, Minnesota Meat Specialties, Mapps Tea & Coffee and Salsa a la Salsa have been confirmed as signed tenants.

The Global Market will occupy the first-floor, Lake Street side of the Midtown Exchange project and will feature a worldwide variety of fresh and prepared ethnic food in stalls and booths of various sizes, mixed with restaurants and small specialty grocery stores to reflect the minority populations in Minneapolis, including recent immigrants from Latin America, Africa and Asia; older immigrant groups from Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; and African American and Native American business owners.

The space allows for more than 60 vendors to offer the finest selection of produce, delicacies, prepared foods, grocery items and unique gifts from around the globe. Representatives from the Neighborhood Development Center, which is heading up the market component, said 12 contracts have been signed to date, boosting occupancy slightly north of 25%.

Vendors and retailers will be classified with roughly one-third in each of three tiers: Start-up, second-stage growth, and anchor. Start-up businesses will come from graduates of recent and ongoing training classes offered by NDC, which trains more than 250 entrepreneurs annually. According to the organization, the vendor-tier strategy was modeled on traditional public marketplaces such as the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia and the Grandville Island in Vancouver, WA. The intention is to foster community economic development and provide business development opportunities to low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs of many different ethnic groups.

Instant Insights /

$190M Midtown Exchange Inks First Retailers, Readies for Open House

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