Hy-Vee Delays Latest Minneapolis Store Plans

Hy-Vee is putting the brakes on its plans for a grocery store in suburban Minneapolis – its seventh in the Twin Cities area – amid calls to preserve a 1950s movie theater on the project site.

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee was planning to construct a 91,500-square-foot supermarket in the northwest Minneapolis suburb of Robbinsdale. But area residents looking to save the historic Terrace Theatre from being razed to make way for the 10-acre development gathered more than 1,000 signatures calling for a boycott of the grocer, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported.

Respectful of History

"Over the past several weeks, it's been difficult to witness the friction our proposed project has caused among Robbinsdale residents," Hy-Vee spokeswoman Tara Deering-Hansen said in a statement. "When we enter a community, we want to be respectful of our neighbors' history, culture and all the things that matter to them. We will continue to assess the situation and keep communication lines open with city officials."

City leaders were expected to discuss a demolition permit for the theater Tuesday, according to published reports.

"We're going to continue fighting this," David Leonhardt, who has led preservation efforts, told the Star-Tribune. "We acknowledge the area needs to be redeveloped; we just feel (saving) the Terrace should be included in it."

With 235 stores in eight states, Hy-Vee has spent the past two years expanding its presence in Minnesota, where it has operated since 1969. Before its entry into the Twin Cities, it operated 17 stores in the state with a workforce of more than 5,000.