Aging strip mall due for a facelift

It has all the markings of an aging strip mall: Cracked pavement. Chinese buffet. Dollar store. Vacant storefront.

Though the Ten Acres Center near South Robert Street and Mendota Road has shortcomings, developers and city officials agree the strip mall is key to the vitality of West St. Paul.

What belongs on that site and how it will affect life in the northern Dakota County suburb is where their opinions diverge.

Property owner Gerald (Jerry) Paulsen, owner of Jerry's Enterprises Inc., and developer Darcy Winter have submitted plans to rename the site Robert Street Marketplace, adding a gas station/car wash, liquor store and several retail spaces for possible grab-and-dash dining. Their plans also include an exterior renovation for the current retail space, including the Cub Foods.

"We are trying to take this from a Class B, some might say Class D, shopping center to top of the line," Winter told Planning Commission members last week.

The fact that Winter has yet to secure tenants for the proposed retail space bothers Ward I Council Member Jim Englin, who called the plans speculative and unimaginative.

A review of plans for the site brought wrinkled noses, lifted eyebrows and shaking of heads from his colleagues, Englin told commission members.

"This does not meet what we are looking for," Englin said. "If we don't do it right here, we'll lose it forever."

With Winters' request for several drive-through lanes and liquor licenses, at least two city council members are leery that the location will serve as a mere food and fuel pit stop for the 29,000-plus motorists who drive up and down South Robert Street daily.

The city depends heavily on tax revenue from the 2.5-mile stretch of South Robert that cuts through the center of town and provides easy access to the Twin Cities' highways. The Ten Acres Center also serves as a gateway of sorts to West Saint Paul.

"There's a lot of potential there," said Jim Hartshorn, director of community development for West St. Paul. But "it's going to take a lot of work."

Making the right decisions on development is key, not only for the tax rolls, but also for maintaining the character of the community, said Englin and Ward II councilman Ed Iago.

Although planners rejected large portions of Winters' plans, Planning Commission members are urging compromise on the project.

City Council members likely will discuss the issue at their 7 p.m. Monday meeting at the municipal center, 1616 Humboldt Av.

Dentist David Sass relocated to Ten Acres about 15 years ago to take advantage of the ample parking and high visibility the plaza provided. His business is among those that stand to benefit from the proposed renovation project.

"It needs updating," Sass said, "if they do it right."