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Continued: Editorial: A market boost for downtown St. Paul

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Lunds is coming to downtown St. Paul. While grocery stores come and go in other parts of the city, downtown hasn't had one in decades.

That's why the Lunds announcement is such great news for the city and its 14,000 downtown residents and 65,000 workers. In addition to providing long-needed access to a supermarket, the store will help boost the tax base, attract new residents and contribute to community building.

Early this month, Lunds Food Holdings said it will build a 30,000-square-foot store as part of an $88 million mixed-use project called the Penfield. The development, on 10th and Robert streets, will include a hotel and upscale apartments. Construction is scheduled to begin in the fall.

Developers are hoping that a St. Paul Lunds will be as successful as a similar Minneapolis store just northeast of downtown. Built in 2006, the market quickly became a community focal point in a growing neighborhood of lofts and condos. So a second core-city store near Hennepin Avenue S. between 10th and 11th streets is on the drawing board.

Other supermarkets located in urban developments have shown that they encourage walking and buying smaller quantities of fresh food more often. With a grocery store close by, residents and workers are more likely to leave the car parked and stroll to the store for a few items at a time, similar to the way many urban Europeans shop. That's good for healthy lifestyles and for the region's carbon footprint.

In addition, as some city leaders point out, a downtown market offers a psychological lift of sorts. It signals that a developing urban neighborhood is succeeding and encourages condo shoppers to seriously consider living downtown.

When an upscale grocer such as Lunds makes this kind of investment -- especially in this challenging economy -- it's a good sign for the future of downtown living.

•••

A few blocks away from the Penfield development, thieves have taken advantage of the crowds drawn by Minnesota Wild Hockey games and other events at the Xcel Energy Center. Police report that in November and December, crooks broke into more than 20 vehicles and took purses, computers, iPods and other electronics left on seats or otherwise in plain view. Most of the thefts occurred in surface parking lots around the arena during Wild games.

Rashes of similar smash-and-grabs have occurred all over the metro area. Lakes in St. Paul and Minneapolis where joggers and bikers gather have been hot spots for that brand of theft. Parked vehicles near shopping malls, the State Fair, Taste of Minnesota and other summer festivals have also been targets. Crooks like to target locations where they know motorists will be away from their cars for a while.

With a little common sense, such thefts are highly preventable. Too many motorists leave themselves open to such "crimes of opportunity'' because they think a pane of glass is enough security to protect their things.

It's a common-sense lesson that can't be repeated often enough, especially during this heavy shopping, returning, exchanging and gift-card using season: Don't invite thieves to inventory your valuables through a car window. Either leave them at home or take a few extra seconds to lock them in a trunk, console or glove compartment.

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Opinion Exchange is produced by the Editorial Department, which is dedicated to hosting the discussion on a range of issues of interest to Star Tribune readers online and in print. In its new format, it's our hope that Opinion Exhange will create a more dynamic dialogue between Star Tribune readers and the Editorial Board. Many individual posts will be written and signed by members of the Editorial Board and will reflect their own opinions. Daily editorials will continue to represent the institutional voice of the newspaper and be researched and written by the Editorial Department, which is independent of the newsroom.

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