St. Paul residents and developers are envisioning a revitalized Midway area, where construction of the Minnesota United soccer stadium is scheduled to begin this year.
Construction of the $120 million, 20,000-seat stadium is just one — albeit large — piece of a plan to redevelop a 34.5-acre site at the intersection of Snelling and University avenues.
"This has to be a cohesive project," United owner Bill McGuire told members of a community advisory committee on Thursday. "This stadium … is forming a catalyst that is real and tangible for the development of the community."
John Clifford, an architect working on a master plan for the site, described a so-called "urban village" that will include open space and residential, retail, entertainment and office space.
The site is roughly the size of 12 blocks in downtown St. Paul, Clifford said, but it is "significantly underutilized."
It currently includes a shopping center, a former Metro Transit bus storage site and a lot of parking space.
Details about future development were scant at Thursday's meeting, where officials got feedback from the community. The streetscape design will start to take shape this month, officials said.
Residents urged planners to make the area walkable.