When Major League Soccer resumes play, the owners of the Minnesota United will have more than just winning games on their minds.

A planned real estate development next to Allianz Field in St. Paul’s Midway includes two towers composed of 234 housing units elevated over new retail and a “parking podium.” Restaurants and co-working spaces would be situated nearby in a third building.

A single layer of underground parking will serve the three buildings, which will be designed by stadium architect Populous.

On Tuesday, the St. Paul Port Authority’s credit committee will discuss applying for up to $2 million in public environmental clean-up grants for the two-acre site at 1574 University Ave. West, which is technically the former address of the old Big Top Liquor store.

The liquor store has moved elsewhere within the Midway Shopping Center, but the land could soon host “United Villages at Midway,” two multi-family towers — 9 to 18 stories tall — on top of a “parking podium” connected by an “activated” alley to a second block of retail and co-working, according to the Port Authority.

The application seeks up to $1 million from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, up to $500,000 from Ramsey County and up to $500,000 from the Metropolitan Council, the metro’s regional planning agency.

The tower area is situated on the west side of the Great Lawn facing Snelling Avenue, with Shields Avenue to the south and Spruce Tree to the north.

“Our role is as the environmental project manager,” said Port Authority CEO and President Lee Krueger. “We’re not putting money in the deal. We’re not investing in it.”

The two multi-family towers would include 234 housing units and nearly 16,000 square feet of retail space, sitting on top of 148,000 square feet of parking.

An adjacent block will host 19,000 square feet of retail and 30,000 square feet of co-working space in a three-level building. The alley between the two blocks will be “activated,” according to the Port Authority, with a mix of retail and “live-work” spaces.

With nearly 20,000 seats, the soccer-specific stadium opened in April 2019. Neighborhood residents, however, have expressed frustration that despite concept plans calling for a hotel, movie theater and other amenities, no new development has sprung up on the site of the shopping center other than the stadium itself.

An old Rainbow grocery store and several other businesses closed or relocated to make room for the sports facility, with the promise of future real estate led by master developer M.A. Mortenson Co. of Golden Valley.

Dr. Bill McGuire, principal owner of Minnesota United, discussed preliminary real estate plans with the Union Park District Council in December. Minnesota United retains a major lease on much of the 35-acre “SuperBlock” from owner Rick Birdoff and RK Midway.

McGuire at the time said the tower project alone would cost roughly $90 million. At a cost of about $30 million, the three-story retail and co-working building would showcase local food on the ground level, he said.

McGuire told the neighborhood council that looking further out, a hotel of 140 to 200 units could be constructed to the east side of the Great Lawn.