Between the airport and MOA, a new phase of development kicks off

Plans are underway for the third phase of a massive redevelopment effort in Bloomington not far from the Mall of America and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The project has been on the to-do list of Stuart Development Corp. and United Properties, which assembled the first two phases at the intersection of American Boulevard and Penn Avenue.

Ryan Dunlay, president of Stuart, said the team is still in the very early planning process. In February, the company acquired four parcels with a bit less than 10 acres for about $8 million, according to public records. All of the parcels were owned by the same entity.

The acquisition was part of a strategic effort to revamp a highly traveled and highly visible intersection that had been a commercial district developed in spurts over the past couple of decades. The newest parcels are adjacent to Phase I of the redevelopment, which opened in 2012 with the Genesee, a 234-unit apartment building with retail on the first floor. The second phase, known as the Penn-American II mixed-use project, includes a 100-plus unit Home 2 Suites by Hilton hotel. There is also a Fresh Thyme Farmers Market and some retail, including a Red Robin Gourmet Burgers restaurant.

Given the latest project's proximity to those parcels, locking up the land that will become Phase III was done before the team had decided what to do with the land.

"We won't rush to get anything done," Dunlay said. "Nothing is concrete at this time."

Those four parcels in Phase III are now home to Red Lobster, a former bank building at 8000 Knox Av. S., a shuttered Home Valu store at 1901 American Blvd. and a Savers Thrift Store.

Dunlay said the initial concept for Phase III includes a 248-unit apartment building on the south half of the site and a hotel that would replace the bank building, but a firm decision won't be made until he has more information about whether the market would support such a decision.

"We have to complete a plan that works for the site and with the site, and then go in for approvals," he said.