St. Paul’s Sibley Plaza shopping center, the Highland Park strip mall that lost its anchor tenant when Cooper’s Foods closed its doors after 20 years last October, is weeks away from signing a new grocer: Aldi.

“There isn’t a signed lease, but yes, that’s the plan,” said John Kohler, vice president of development and construction for strip mall owner Paster Properties.

Aldi, a German discount grocer with about 1,800 stores in the U.S., has carved a niche for itself both in Minnesota and nationally as an alternative to low-cost chains such as Walmart.

Kohler noted that the price-point would be the right fit for the many immigrant and low-income residents of Sibley Manor Apartments, a 1950s-era housing development directly across West Seventh Street.

While not subsidized, Sibley Manor — which spans 550 apartments in multiple buildings — charges about $950 for a three-bedroom rental, making it one of the largest providers of naturally occurring affordable housing in the city.

With Cooper’s gone, the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation’s Twin Cities Mobile Market — a roving bus loaded with fresh vegetables and other groceries — has been visiting Sibley Manor for an hour every other Thursday evening. Soon, that may no longer be necessary.

Kohler, who presented plans to members of the Highland Park District Council on Tuesday night, said he hopes to have a lease signed with Aldi’s “within a month or two.”

“It would be a process of remodeling the old Cooper’s space,” Kohler said. “There’s a lot of interior work they need to do. … Right now it’s still the layout that Cooper’s had. That would need to be gutted out.”

The shopping center — which was built in 1955, and looks it — would also undergo exterior changes. Related Articles St. Paul City Council approves $600,000 charge for downtown improvement district

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“The whole front of the center is going to get a facelift — the whole center, both buildings,” Kohler said. “There’s kind of this red arched canopy along the outside walkway. That will all be taken off and upgraded with awnings. It’s time for it to be upgraded.”

The shopping center, which has roughly 20 storefronts, was half-empty even before Cooper’s closed last fall. Kohler said he was optimistic a new anchor tenant will help draw new ancillary businesses. “A good grocery will help that,” he said.