Wellington Management expands reach from west side of Hiawatha to east with 6-acre Minnehaha Crossing project
By TESHA M. CHRISTENSEN
The former Rainbow Foods, 2912 28th Ave. S., is being reincarnated as a mixed-use building anchored by a school.
The Universal Academy Charter School (UACS) moved into the building
in time for the start of the 2017-2018 school year. The K-8 school is
located in temporary classrooms at the front of the building as landlord
Wellington Management Company oversees a 19,600-square-foot
second-story addition for classroom space on the back side of the
building. To accommodate the addition, a single-family home on the
property was torn down.
When it is complete, the school will have 31 classrooms and 55,000 square feet, with an entrance on the east side of 29th Ave.
“Our team is excited to redefine the backside of a big box retail
center with a light-filled school where students will learn, play and
grow,” said Wellington Management Director of Acquisitions and
Development David Wellington.
Photo
right: The former Rainbow Foods site has been mostly vacant since the
grocery store closed in 2014. It had been purchased by Jerry’s
Enterprises as part of a 27-store deal that reshaped the Twin Cities
grocery scene. The building and 6-acre lot were purchased by Wellington
two years later for $5.35 million, according to Hennepin County records.
Universal Academy Charter School moved into temporary classrooms in
time to start the 2017-18 school year. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
Built in 1984, Rainbow Foods closed in 2014 after it was purchased by
Jerry’s Enterprises as part of a 27-store deal that reshaped the Twin
Cities grocery scene. The building and 6-acre lot were purchased by
Wellington two years later for $5.35 million, according to Hennepin
County records.
Universal Academy served 288 students at its St. Paul location in the
Midway neighborhood last year. This year, the school added another
kindergarten class for a total enrollment target of 338 students.
Photo
left: “Our team is excited to redefine the backside of a big box retail
center with a light-filled school where students will learn, play and
grow,” said Wellington Management Director of Acquisitions and
Development David Wellington. (Illustration courtesy of Wellington
Management)
Formed in 2014, UACS was originally slated to be located in
Minneapolis, but ended up in St. Paul, according to Principal and
Director Ms. Farhiya Einte. Most of the students live in Minneapolis.
Ninety-eight percent of students at the charter school are English
language learners, according to Minnesota’s Report Card on the school.
Its authorizer is Novation Education Opportunities.
‘Golden opportunity’ for Wellington
The Minnehaha Crossing project continues the efforts of Wellington that
began more than a decade ago with projects such as Hi-Lake Shopping
Center, the Greenway Office Building, Corridor Flats, Lake Street
Station, and the Blue Line Flats.
Photo
left: The three-prong Minnehaha Crossing project at the six-acre
property along Minnehaha Ave. includes a two-story addition on the west
side for a school, the renovation of the east side of the empty Rainbow
building for a grocery store, and the construction of a 90-unit senior
affordable housing building. (Illustration courtesy of Wellington
Management)
The largest landowner and developer in the Hi-Lake market, Wellington
Management’s work in the area began with the purchase of the Hi-Lake
Shopping Center in 2004, recalled Wellington, whose father considered it
a “golden opportunity.”
He added, “It was a good fit for our company. We saw a lot of
potential for development.” It was a strategic decision to become
invested in the area. Since “we’ve really enjoyed our work in the
neighborhood,” said Wellington, age 35, who plans to work at the company
another 30-40 years and continue the civic-minded approach his father
has taken.
Photo
right: A 19,600-square-foot second-story addition is currently under
construction on the back side of the former Rainbow Foods building. When
it is complete, Universal Academy Charter School will have 31
classrooms and 55,000 square feet, with an entrance on the east side off
29th Ave. (Photo by Tesha M. Christensen)
Through the years, the family-run company has doubled the density at
the original site, first by building Corridor Flats, which houses Aldi’s
and 36 market-rate condos. Then they erected the Lake Street Station
building next to the light rail line in 2015, which provides 64 units of
senior affordable housing. Rates are federally regulated and set at 60%
of the area median income, or roughly $900-$1,200 a month.
Last year, Wellington built Blue Line Flats in the Corcoran triangle
off 32nd St., offering 135 units of workforce housing at 30%, 50%, and
60% of the area median income.
The Minnehaha Crossing project marks the first time the Wellington Group has embarked on a project to the west of Hiawatha.
“We’re just trying to be your friendly neighborhood developer,” said Wellington.
Grocery store coming
Taken together, the Rainbow site, Cub land, and Target property
represent the second largest piece of continuous asphalt in the city of
Minneapolis, pointed out Wellington. The city’s plans for the area call
for greater density due to the light rail line, which Wellington
Management has focused on providing as it redevelops the area.
The addition for Universal Academy is phase one of a three-prong project.
In the second stage of the Minnehaha Crossing project, the existing
retail that currently fronts the parking lot along Minnehaha Ave. will
be repositioned. This will include approximately 12,000 square feet of
small shop retail, as well as a 22,000-square-foot grocery store. Work
on this will begin after the school moves into the finished addition,
likely in the summer of 2018.
They have been in discussions with Aldi, which has tossed around the
idea of a new concept store focusing on high-quality meat and fresh
fruits and vegetables at the site, remarked Wellington, but nothing has
been finalized yet, and they continue to market the site to a variety of
grocery stores.
Wellington does not own Schooner Tavern, just north of the Rainbow
building at 2901 27th Ave. S. and it is not part of this project.
Affordable senior housing in the project mix
Stage three includes the construction of a mixed-use building on the
northwest corner of the parking lot. It will have 90 units of affordable
housing for seniors, and 15,000 square feet of retail space on the
ground level. This portion of the project is behind schedule as
Wellington Management works to put the financial pieces together to make
it affordable.
“It takes a village to get an affordable housing project off the
ground,” observed Wellington, but the company believes it is an
important piece of the total development, particularly in light of the
broader discussion on affordable housing in the city.
Wellington envisions that seniors who currently live in Seward and
Longfellow will move into this building and stay in their neighborhood,
shopping at the places they’ve always shopped at.
While Wellington Management tried to purchase the Auto Zone property
at the corner of E. Lake and Minnehaha, the property owners were not
interested in selling. So they signed a long-term agreement with Wendy’s
to remain there for 20 years, and have plans to construct a
single-story 3,500-square-foot retail building in the existing parking
lot area not being used by Wendy’s along Minnehaha.
While two new buildings will use up some of the parking currently
available at the site, Wellington believes there will still be enough
parking there. He pointed out that parking, as well as the perception of
adequate parking, is important to their retail tenants, and one of
their primary concerns.
This article appeared in the December 2017 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger.
