Robbinsdale will get a Hy-Vee store after all, despite Terrace Theater fallout

Grocer Hy-Vee on Tuesday said it will move forward with plans to open a store in Robbinsdale.

The decision comes after the city's mayor, Regan Murphy, met in person with Hy-Vee's CEO Randy Edeker in the company's West Des Moines, Iowa, offices, asking Hy-Vee to revive plans to build a 91,500-square-foot grocery store, convenience store, coffee shop and gas station on the site of the former Terrace Theater and Rainbow Foods store.

Last summer, Hy-Vee announced plans to build a store on a 10-acre site off 36th Avenue and West Broadway after the Robbinsdale City Council unanimously supported the redevelopment effort, saying it would revitalize blighted acreage, create 700 jobs and generate more property taxes.

But Hy-Vee scrapped plans after it brought controversy to the northwest suburb with some residents supporting bringing a grocery store to Robbinsdale, while others rallied to preserve the historic Terrace Theater. The Friends of the Terrace preservation group sued the theater's owner, Brixmor Property Group, to save the landmark theater, which closed in 1999. But the group was denied a temporary restraining order, lost an appeal and was unable to come up with the $6.3 million needed to halt demolition. The theater was torn down this fall.

Over the past few months, however, Hy-Vee also received numerous e-mails and calls from residents asking the company to revive the project, a spokeswoman said. Then this week, Murphy traveled to Iowa to persuade Hy-Vee to come to Robbinsdale.

"After meeting with Mayor Murphy and witnessing his tremendous passion, enthusiasm and vision for Robbinsdale and its citizens, it became clear that this is the right time for Hy-Vee to be a part of that community," said Edeker. "While we still need to work through several details with the owner of the property, our plan is to move quickly with establishing a timeline to move forward with the project."

It was not immediately clear when construction on the new Robbinsdale store would begin. It joins stores in Savage, Cottage Grove and Shakopee scheduled to open in 2017.

Hy-Vee already has metro area stores in New Hope, Oakdale, Lakeville, Brooklyn Park and Eagan.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768