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Mr. Halvorson inquired about the Lexington-University corner and what was being done to redevelop it. Let me add my understanding and anybody else should throw out their rumors and facts as well. I am always interested. Steve Wellington of Wellington Management bought the parcel on the SW corner. This is the closed strip mall and discontinued Home Depot site. Wellington has a lot of experience with a variety of developments. He is responsible for the Emerald Gardens project near University and Hwy 280. This is a huge, urban style residential neighborhood, which has been highly regarded by groups such as University United. Wellington�s initial plan for the mall was to spruce it up again and reopen it as a strip mall. However, I understand that he is interested in a bigger project, one that would be a mixed-use, higher density development. There also was talk of a McDonald�s going in on the SW corner (next to White Castle), but I have not heard that lately. On the NW corner, the boarded up gas station site is owned by the neighboring restaurant, Hoa Bien. The plans for this continue to change, but Hoa Bien wants to build a building along both lots that would hold an upgraded restaurant and offices. I expect that this will happen, as asian restaurants along the Ave. are getting more and more successful. On the NE corner, the KFC was recently rebuilt and the Autozone is relatively new. We did not jump in to these projects when they were being considered, and now likely will not have another opportunity to put aesthetically appropriate buildings in there for a while. For the record, I would say this is not the worst corner in the city, and it is good to have two new businesses. On the SE corner, we have an ugly strip mall. It includes a Unbank and a church that never seems to finish restorations to its building. It also houses the Lexington Library that is going to be taken from us and moved down the street (to Dale). However, the corner is not vacant (right now). It seems to me that some neighbors don�t like businesses such as Unbank, but that doesn�t seem to be a reason to drive it out of the community. It is obviously being frequented. The SE corner should be watched closely. Money could be invested in the fa�ade of the building and cosmetic changes should be immediately considered. But more importantly, the old library site should be used as an opportunity to upgrade this corner to match what can be done on the SW and NW corners. Jim Mogen Lex-Ham St. Paul _____________________________________________ NEW ADDRESS FOR LIST: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, modify subscription, or get your password - visit: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/listinfo/stpaul Archive Address: http://www.mnforum.org/mailman/private/stpaul/ _____________________________________________ For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract
