Suburban Malls and Associated Retail News

[Didier]

Should we start calling you MAGAdible now?

[Didier]

(just kidding)

[pannierpacker2]

Marshalls recently moved out of Har Mar mall:
https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-li ... this-month

They seem to be following in the footsteps of Home Goods and moving over to Fairview just west of Rosedale. New store opened last week, supposedly.

This doesn't bode well for Har Mar. In the last couple of years they've lost Tuesday Morning, Home Goods, Marshalls, Old Chicago, Smash Burger, Subway, and probably some other places I'm forgetting. Hopefully they find some uses for their vacant storefronts or redevelop the area.

[BikesOnFilm]

It's a shame developers are interested in putting density around Southdale's suburban ring road but not around HarMar's geometric, street grid aligned footprint.

Or maybe they are and the ownership is just mall and car brained and hasn't considered it.

[MNdible]

I am personally not surprised that the demographics around Southdale are more favorable to financing and building expensive apartments and condos than they are around HarMar.

Also, the parking lot footprint around HarMar is a lot more constrained. The only obvious chunk of parking that seems grossly oversized is the one south of Cub, and that's probably also the least attractive site for redevelopment.

It may well be that the owners are envisioning a full scale redevelopment down the road, rather than some piecemeal small projects nibbling around the edges.

[BikesOnFilm]

I didn't say I was surprised or that I was expecting something spectacular out of HarMar. Mostly just observing if the addresses/economic conditions of the two sites were switched, HarMar could have looked more like the way the Bellevue Mall in Seattle has transformed and that would have been neat.

[mattaudio]

HarMar needs a superstar to redevelop it.

[Tom H.]

It's wild to me that Har Mar still exists, to be honest. When I went to Bethel 20 years ago, it was already the dumpy shopping area that nobody went to (except to see cheap movies).

[LakeCharles]

It's wild to me that Har Mar still exists, to be honest. When I went to Bethel 20 years ago, it was already the dumpy shopping area that nobody went to (except to see cheap movies).

I agree! Especially with Rosedale right there, surrounded by Rosedale Commons and other strip malls, it's unclear why any business would choose to be in Har Mar at all.

[Mdcastle]

Worth noting that Barnes and Noble's new business model is "places they can get a cheap lease" and they'll build it out as cheap as possible, using existing walls and ceilings even if they're bare concrete and sometimes even existing store fixtures rather then their traditional carpet, finished ceilings, and dark bookcases. So I don't see them moving.

[angrysuburbanite]

https://eplocalnews.org/2026/05/22/stat ... enter-tif/

The TIF plan for Eden Prairie Center fell through last year, but the state authorized an extension to the TIF planning deadline into 2028. The developer, Hines, still isn't completely sure how it wants to redevelop the space. J.C. Penney's has been vacant for a couple years now and that wing of the mall has been losing tenants. The previous plan would have demolished part of the proper mall space as well as the anchor itself to replace with residential, but it appears that the city and developer haven't made a final decision yet.

I'm guessing the idea to demolish actual mall space will probably be dropped from the plan, along with any office space that was proposed. Outside of that section of the mall, EP Center has really been on a roll with a lot of new local tenants replacing old spots vacated by national chains after COVID. The only thing missing is later hours, closing at 8 really limits a lot of people from frequenting the mall.

[Tom H.]

That giant JC Penney's parking lot is primed for some sort of redevelopment. It's blocked off an used for nothing except snow storage and a seasonal flower shop. Importantly, that's the side of the mall nearest the LRT station (although it's still a healthy walk through forbidding streetscape).

On a semi-related note, High Score is my (and my kids') favorite recent addition to the EP mall. Fun place to check out retro games and Pokemon cards, and the owner seems to genuinely enjoy what he does.

[angrysuburbanite]

I really appreciate the push for non-chain places in the EP Center area in general, there are so many unique/cool places that have opened up over the past few years. It seems like the mall has begun to transition away from shopping and towards entertainment options. Getting some attached residential on the north wing would be a real boon to support that shift, but as I mentioned it has to be open until like 10 PM for anybody to actually go there on weeknights.

I hope the TIF plan includes some bays for SW Prime or a shuttle to the Town Center/Southwest Stations as Eden Prairie is the only mall in the metro area without direct bus service.

[mattaudio]

Har Mar Mall could be headed for the wrecking ball
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/har-m ... r-AA25hkWo

A marketing brochure from mall manager and leasing agency JLL calls for "a full scrape and rebuild of the existing shopping center" with tenants able to move in in 2028.

A Fidelis site plan obtained separately by Axios shows a long strip of retail spaces along the east side of the property, with a 65,000-square-foot Cub Foods store as the only remaining named tenant from the current Har Mar lineup.
It also shows 30 row houses on the south side of the property, as well as several smaller restaurants and retail spots along Snelling Avenue and County Road B.

Sean Tillmann unavailable for comment.

[Rube Dali]

I'm not surprised that Har Mar is going to go by the wayside, but I am surprised that Cub is the only existing tenant planning to remain in the new development. Aren't B&N and K&G supposed to remain?

[Mdcastle]

Cub is towards the end and then in back rather than right in the center like Barnes and Noble so it would be easier to build around them. Or alternatively Cub has shown willingness to go into ground floor mixed use developments.

Barnes and Noble's current model for new and relocated stores is "places we can get a dirt cheap lease and buildout on". They'll go into strip malls and try to reuse the lighting, flooring, and sometimes even the fixtures of the previous tenant rather than prime locations with custom, cozy, high end finishes. And no cafe unless it's a rare location where plumbing has previously been roughed-in. If Barnes and Noble looses their lease I'd imagine they'd consider opening in one of the strip malls around Rosedale Center.

[BikesOnFilm]

Some discouraging news on the HarMar front.

Big takeaways for me are:

- The property owner clearly does not have a vision beyond carving the building open to put more parking spots next to the existing retail, apart from a few new restaurants on the periphery of the property.
- Fidelis knows their plan is a dud that will be unpopular with Roseville residents, which is why they're ducking site plan reviews and hoping to present the whole thing to the city council once deals are signed and they can say "Take it or leave it."

[Rube Dali]

Some discouraging news on the HarMar front.

Big takeaways for me are:

- The property owner clearly does not have a vision beyond carving the building open to put more parking spots next to the existing retail, apart from a few new restaurants on the periphery of the property.
- Fidelis knows their plan is a dud that will be unpopular with Roseville residents, which is why they're ducking site plan reviews and hoping to present the whole thing to the city council once deals are signed and they can say "Take it or leave it."

I wonder if Cub is looking to get out of their lease there knowing there's another Cub nearby off Larpenteur and Fernwood(Yes, I realize the Larpenteur and Fernwood store is owned by Jerry's, not UNFI).

[pannierpacker2]

Some discouraging news on the HarMar front.

Big takeaways for me are:

- The property owner clearly does not have a vision beyond carving the building open to put more parking spots next to the existing retail, apart from a few new restaurants on the periphery of the property.
- Fidelis knows their plan is a dud that will be unpopular with Roseville residents, which is why they're ducking site plan reviews and hoping to present the whole thing to the city council once deals are signed and they can say "Take it or leave it."

I wonder if Cub is looking to get out of their lease there knowing there's another Cub nearby off Larpenteur and Fernwood(Yes, I realize the Larpenteur and Fernwood store is owned by Jerry's, not UNFI).

Some discouraging news on the HarMar front.

Big takeaways for me are:

- The property owner clearly does not have a vision beyond carving the building open to put more parking spots next to the existing retail, apart from a few new restaurants on the periphery of the property.
- Fidelis knows their plan is a dud that will be unpopular with Roseville residents, which is why they're ducking site plan reviews and hoping to present the whole thing to the city council once deals are signed and they can say "Take it or leave it."

I wonder if Cub is looking to get out of their lease there knowing there's another Cub nearby off Larpenteur and Fernwood(Yes, I realize the Larpenteur and Fernwood store is owned by Jerry's, not UNFI).

Their plan looks pretty lackluster. The red shows what will be demolished:

Not surprising that Cub wants out of their lease. This Cub has had theft issues and now closes at 11PM. Their doors lock at 10:30 and a guard has to let you in/out.

[Mdcastle]

Are Roseville residents, Roseville government, and random internet commentors suggesting they know better than Fidelis what the market will support and how much parking is needed, and that it would actually be viable to pack the site with mixed use 5 over 2s or something?

As for Cub, they could be playing "hard to get" to get the developer to cough up money for them to remodel the store (maybe turn it around to face Snelling) in exchange for not causing issues with the "de-development".

There's also a lot of fast-casual chains that are trying enter the market so I'm wondering if the new restaurants are spec of if they have been approached by specific tenants.