Daylight Savings has begun—and with longer days and melting snow comes a wave of new store openings in the Twin Cities this spring. Here’s what’s new and next at local retail hot spots:
50th & France:
The retail-heavy intersection in Edina has several new store openings. After 10 years in Lakeville, Pink Door Boutique has moved into the former Parc storefront with a mix of women’s clothing and accessories, hostess and baby gifts, and home decor and fragrance (5023 France Ave. S.) and Chuck & Don’s Pet Food & Supplies recently opened in the former Bone Adventure storefront (5045 France Ave. S.). This Friday, Anthropologie will open a new Anthropologie Design Center within its 50th & France store storefront (4999 France Ave. S.), where home stylists will offer free design advice and inspiration for home projects and shoppers can view upholstery swatches for custom furniture as well as, hardware, rug, furniture, and wallpaper samples. Custom furniture choices currently include 126 shapes, 11 fabrics, 152 colors, and finish touches such as studs, casters, and leg finishes.
In more 50th & France news, the intersection is undergoing a major redevelopment project that will include more shops, dining, and residential spaces, opening fall 2019. The 100-unit housing plaza, Nolan Mains (named for 1940s-era Nolan’ Golf Terrace Café, the site of the new structure), will capitalize on the area’s walkability, with access to restaurants, retail, salons, and a movie theater with four-season gathering spaces and cafes.
Galleria:
Heritage brands Filson and Shinola recently confirmed they would move from their shared North Loop storefront to open two separate storefronts at Galleria this spring. The Edina shopping center recently underwent a major expansion, adding new retail and dining attractions including Design Within Reach, CÅV restaurant, a Porsche pop-up, and local women’s boutique Roe Wolfe, which also left its North Loop storefront last year. Filson will be located in the former Excelr8 pop-up location in the center’s new wing on its northeast end, and Shinola will be located in the located that was home to the Ribnick Luxury Outerwear pop-up over the holidays, across from Crave. In March, they’ll be joined by new locations from home store Z Gallerie and Chico’s, both opening in the new wing.
North Loop:
Despite the departure of Shinola and Filson, the North Loop is showing no signs of slowing. Shortly after the news about those brands moving to Galleria came out, it was announced that Love Your Melon would be relocating its headquarters to the prime space on June 1. The Minnesota-based apparel brand, which donates its hats to children battling cancer and 50 percent of its sales to pediatric cancer nonprofits, will be open once or twice a month to the public to showcase its newest products and limited-edition items.
Minneapolis-based lighting brand Hennepin Made has moved its headquarters and product facility to a new campus in the North Loop. Located between Glenwood Ave. and Holden St. near the Minneapolis Farmers Market in the West Market District, the space also includes Parallel café (which is decorated with the brand’s lighting fixtures, of course), a new co-working space called Hennepin & Co., event space the Holden Room, and a soon-to-open retail space that will feature a mix of Hennepin Made fixtures, decorative vases, and candle holders as well as products by U.K.-based furniture maker Ercol.
Women’s contemporary boutique Parc, which recently closed its 50th and France location, also has plans to move from its Northeast storefront to a historic building in the North Loop this spring at 212 N. 2nd St.
In North Loop development news, the Minneapolis Planning Commission recently approved the restoration, redevelopment, and new construction of several buildings within the city block of 121 and 125 N. 1st St., located next door to Aria. Named The Commutator Foundry Development, the mixed-use project will see the restoration of the existing Commutator Hotel, the adjacent Foundry Building, and a one-story historic facade found at the back of the site located at 121 N. 1st St., and will include 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and five stories of office space. The Foundry Home Goods, which recently moved out of its longtime North Loop storefront on that block and headed to south Minneapolis, hopes to return to its original space after renovation is complete. Construction will begin this summer and will take one year to complete with an expected completion in mid-2019.
Combined with a neighboring project at 128 2nd St. N. (a former parking lot), the new development projects will total 41,000 square feet of new retail space and space that could be home to potentially 13 different retailers, which could very well include a store from West Elm—the home retailer announced last year that it would open a store and a hotel in the North Loop by late 2018 or early 2019.
The Dayton’s Project:
Last fall, it was announced that the former Dayton’s/Macy’s building in downtown Minneapolis would be redeveloped as The Dayton’s Project, slated to open in summer 2019. Last month, additional plans and renderings were revealed, including a large retail space (tenant TBD) that will anchor the corner of Nicollet Mall and 7th St. that may combine with basement space directly below it. The basement level will also contain a large entertainment area along with a food hall curated with help from Andrew Zimmern, with the main floor mostly devoted to retail space. Historic preservation and historic-inspired design elements will be key components of the building’s design—new renderings feature 1920s Art Deco-inspired stair railings.
Lake Street & Hennepin Avenue:
Calhoun Square underwent a renovation a few years ago, but it’s struggled to keep tenants within its prime retail spaces at the corner of Hennepin Ave. S. and W. Lake St. But recently, things are looking up—Sephora is reportedly opening its fifth Twin Cities store in between Timberland and Arc’teryx this spring.
Across the street, the Victoria’s Secret store on Lake Street and Hennepin Avenue in the heart of Uptown closed earlier this year after a ten-year run. The two-story property is up for lease, and the owner of the building is reportedly looking for “unique retail” to fill the space.
