Big boxes · Minnesota
602-634 S. Front St. and 112 W. Liberty St.
Proposed mixed-use redevelopment approved with housing/retail plan; near existing malls; subsidies secured; no construction start date or tenant details in record. · summary, model-written
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from.
Site profile10 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Retrofit in the pipeline
This site: …proposed newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisCounty lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012
This site: -14% census-cbp · all sites with thisPublic grant or loan
This site: DEED redevelopment grant, TIF Approved by Mankato City Council. a six-story building newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisTax increment financing
This site: DEED redevelopment grant, TIF Approved by Mankato City Council. a six-story building, whi newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisRedeveloped
This site: …a six-story building, which would house 150 apartments, a 23,000-square-foot grocery store, a coffee shop, and a restaurant, a two-story parking ramp and a… record · all sites with thisGrocery
This site: …ing, which would house 150 apartments, a 23,000-square-foot grocery store, a coffee shop, and a restaurant, a two-story parking newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisHousing
This site: …a six-story building, which would house 150 apartments, a 23,000-square-foot grocery store, a coffee shop, and a r newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisMixed use
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisOffice
This site: …and a restaurant, a two-story parking ramp and a four-story office building. Approved by Mankato City Council. newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Retrofit proposednewtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Redevelopment, proposedWikipedia |
| New uses | housing, mixed, office, retailWikipedia |
| What is there now | a six-story building, which would house 150 apartments, a 23,000-square-foot grocery store, a coffee shop, and a restaurant, a two-story parking ramp and a four-story office building.newtypes-extraction |
| Redeveloper | Front Street Plaza LLCnewtypes-extraction |
Planning
| Public purchase or subsidy | DEED redevelopment grant, TIFnewtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| Planning notes | Approved by Mankato City Council.Wikipedia |
Site context
| Housing permits, Blue Earth County (MN), 2024 | 154 units in 5+ unit buildings, 36 in 2–4, 81 single-family; 2023: 345 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 2 within 10 km, 2 within 25 km: Mankato Place Mall (0.4 km); Madison East Mall (3.0 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 280 establishments (-14%); 5,953 jobs (-4%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $301,642 (+2% 1 yr, +24% 5 yr); typical rent $1,274/mo (+6% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 16,705 vehicles a day on S Riverfront Dr (minor arterial, 4 lanes); 804 trucks; 19 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Proposed redevelopment of a former retail site at 602-634 S. Front St. and 112 W. Liberty St. in Mankato, MN. Mankato City Council approved the project. Developer Front Street Plaza LLC plans a six-story apartment building (150 units), 23,000 sq ft grocery store, coffee shop, restaurant, two-story parking ramp, and four-story office building. Uses include housing, mixed-use, office, and retail. Public subsidies include a DEED redevelopment grant and TIF. Site is within 0.4 km of Mankato Place Mall (built) and 3.0 km of Madison East Mall (built). Housing market shows 2.1% annual ZHVI growth (2025 data). County population grew 4.6% 2018-23. Project status is 'proposed' with no construction start date noted. Traffic data shows S Riverfront Dr (minor arterial, 4 lanes) has 16,705 ADT. No tenant names or timeline provided. Verified status is 'draft'.
Why. Record shows approved proposal with specific mixed-use plan, proximity to existing malls, and housing market context. Missing: construction start date, tenant details, and exact completion timeline.
Where it stands. Project is in planning phase with council approval but not yet built. Subsidies secured. No evidence of construction underway.
For a planner
- Approvals secured
- Near existing malls (0.4km)
- Housing market supports project (2.1% annual growth)
For a developer
- Public subsidies (DEED grant, TIF) secured
- Mixed-use plan includes anchor retail (grocery)
- No competing projects noted in 10km cluster (only two existing malls)
What we do not know yet
- Status is 'proposed' with no timeline
- No tenant commitments
- Traffic volume (16,705 ADT) not evaluated for project needs
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
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- Thomson Reuters Campus, Eagan, MN · Office parks · same strategy: redevelop; also in MN
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Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- already in play: under construction, approved, or sold to a developer with housing plans
- county grew 4.6% 2018–23
- housing in the record
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Anchors | Walgreens |
|---|---|
| County | Blue Earth County |
| Census division | 4 · West North Central |
| Notes | Draft from finance-commerce.com, model-extracted, unreviewed: A downtown Mankato block with a vacant Walgreens is proposed to be redeveloped into a mixed-use project with 150 apartments, a grocery store, retail, and office space. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.
Timeline
- 2026 Mankato City Council quietly passed a resolution in support of the grant application.
Sources
- Mankato eyes major downtown redevelopment with apartments, grocery
2 quoted sentences
A redevelopment plan at 602-634 S. Front St. and 112 W. Liberty St. in Mankato
Monday night, the Mankato City Council quietly passed a resolution in support of the grant application.
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