For some Midway neighborhood advocates, the most exciting aspect of St. Paul’s Allianz Field isn’t soccer.

Even stadium skeptics longed for something sizable and attractive to replace the former Metro Transit bus storage lot south of the Midway Shopping Center and draw new housing and retail into the area.

Some residents, city officials and business advocates believe the $250 million, 19,400-seat stadium provides that opportunity. Allianz Field will host its first home game for the Minnesota United soccer team on Saturday.

RELATED: Minnesota United’s first practice at Allianz Field provides ‘a lift of morale’

“As you get a major project, it revitalizes the entire area,” said Scott Miller, commercial real estate agent with KW Commercial Premier, a division of Keller Williams International. “Of course there’s going to be opportunity. Nobody wants change, but change is inevitable. (Along the Green Line) the transformation has been dramatic from probably Hamline Avenue west all the way to downtown Minneapolis. Across the country, six blocks from light rail in any direction, the growth has been phenomenal. This is just adding a jewel.”

Nevertheless, Miller noted that neighborhood advocates have fought hard to promote local ownership instead of national chains along Grand Avenue, West Seventh Street and other corners of St. Paul.

The Midway will be no different.

“Progress is good. (Though) we’re still mourning the loss of Porky’s restaurant,” said Miller, referring to the 1950s-era drive-in burger joint that closed on University Avenue near Fairview Avenue in 2011. “That’s where I went as a little kid. Change is hard, but it’s good overall.”

Porky’s was eventually replaced by Episcopal Homes senior housing.

’35-ACRE SUPER BLOCK’

Like Porky’s, the bus lot is gone, but whether Allianz Field will seed new real estate development within the 35-acre “super block” remains to be seen.

As of May 2018, the master developer in charge of the Midway Shopping Center and the vacant land around it is the M.A. Mortenson Co., the real estate development arm of Golden Valley-based stadium builder Mortenson Construction. If the company has short-term plans for new construction, it’s keeping them close to the vest.

A master plan approved by the city in August 2016 raises the long-term possibility of housing, a hotel and even a movie theater. Development would generally progress from the super block’s western corners nearest Snelling Avenue to the east toward Pascal Street.

Mortenson officials have not announced any particular tenants, and they’ve said a possible real estate boom could take three to seven years.

In St. Paul’s draft 2040 Comprehensive Plan, city planners are promoting the idea of transit and economic development at “neighborhood nodes,” or key intersections such as Snelling and University avenues.

‘WE WANT A MIX OF INCOMES’

Despite the optimism, there’s also some worries about pricing out the locals.

Construction of relatively high-end, market-rate apartments has already advanced up Snelling from Selby Avenue to just south of University Avenue.

That’s raised concern with some neighborhood advocates that property owners are keeping storefronts vacant on purpose in hopes of selling to housing developers when the opportunity arises.

“I’ve heard all of those things,” said Brandon Long, executive director of the Union Park District Council. “Oftentimes, what developers think, is it’s good to have segregated buildings that are entirely affordable housing, or market-rate buildings that are separate from those. … We don’t want to have ‘separate but equal’ situations. We want to have a mix of incomes in the same building.”

If market-rate housing construction continues to move north, there could be changes in store for “Little Africa,” the East African immigrant community north of Snelling and University avenues. So far, Karrima Omer, owner of Sabrina’s Cafe and Deli, isn’t too worried. Many of her East African customers enjoy soccer, and the stadium may guide more people to her family-run business.

“I think it will help,” said Omer, who is of Oromo ethnicity. “We have a problem with parking. Other than that, we’re going to get more customers. I’m very happy. I like it a lot.”

Currently, a task force composed of representatives of Ward 4, Ward 1, Union Park and Hamline-Midway areas are studying how to structure a possible Community Benefits Fund, one of the approaches envisioned as a way to mitigate any negative impacts from the stadium, such as litter pick-up. The fund could create grants or micro-grants for targeted community needs, such as business facade improvements in Little Africa.

But housing pressures may be beyond its scope. Until the Union Park District Council became involved, little of the new housing moving in south of the intersection would qualify as affordable.

Some developers are now adding more micro-housing — 400 square feet units targeted to incomes at 60 percent of area median income.

“It does create housing for our residents who are earning in the $50,000 range, but it doesn’t create housing for our poorest residents, and that’s the problem we’re looking to solve,” Long said. “That is a step, and they did hear us.”

Whether they’re directly attributable to the stadium’s arrival or not, those and other changes in real estate development and ownership are already palpable in the surrounding neighborhood, with bars and housing leading the way.

Here’s a quick guide:

RETAIL

Within RK Midway’s Midway Shopping Center, a Rainbow Foods grocery and the Midway Pro-Bowl were torn down to make room for the 19,400-seat stadium. A Big Top liquor store relocated to the former site of a Perkins restaurant along University Avenue. More changes are likely as master developer Mortenson courts new tenants, though it’s unclear when.

“They’d like a movie theater and a hotel,” Long said. “Those are the two things that have been the consistent message. We haven’t really heard what else could be there. Local residents would prefer not to see national chains.”

To the east of Allianz Field and the 35-acre super bock, Kraus-Anderson Realty recently purchased the Midway Marketplace, where Cub Foods, Walmart and LA Fitness are, for $31 million.

The Minneapolis-based developer said no major tenant changes are likely in the near future, but having local ownership in place is a positive sign — it could help with organizing parking on game days. The recent closure of Herberger’s, a clothing and home goods department store, leaves a sizable void.

At Hamline and University avenues, the ground level of Hamline Station apartments is slowly drawing new restaurants and retail. The Magic Noodle, a hand-pulled noodle shop, recently put up its signage near an existing AT&T store. Pearle Vision is also expected. Across Hamline Avenue to the west, Furniture Barn relocated from Snelling Avenue to the 1300 block of University Avenue.

Just north of University Avenue in the 500 block of Snelling, small boutique shops that cater to Somali, Ethiopian and Eritrean customers share space at the AJ International Mall, an indoor bazaar or mini-mall.

BARS

Along University Avenue, the row of bars stretching from the Turf Club to the former Townhouse Bar continue to evolve.

First Avenue bought the Turf Club, a popular rock venue, in 2013, adding a kitchen and some touch-ups to the interior while keeping the atmosphere largely the same, including the irreverent art of the basement Clown Lounge.

With the notable exception of Midway Book Store and Hot Rods Bar and Grill, Dave Tolchiner and Tolch Properties have acquired much of the north side of University Avenues between Snelling and Asbury streets. Tolch recently closed on the purchase of Big V’s, which they plan to rename the Midway Saloon. The site has hosted a bar since the early 1890s. Hot Rod’s, which closed in the first half of 2018, remains up for sale.

Related Articles Allianz Field food service to include Afro Deli, Brasa, Hot Indian — and that’s just the beginning

Fans check out Allianz Field’s brew hall, meet United players at open house

A soccer bar’s grand opening underscores Midway hopes for Allianz Field Wes Burdine, a soccer podcaster, purchased the Townhouse, the state’s oldest gay bar, and has added new windows, tables and other improvements, including a new name — the Black Hart of St. Paul. For the Dark Clouds, Minnesota United’s largest supporters group, the Black Hart is the official viewing partner for away games, and also hosts watch parties for European leagues.

HOUSING

Across from Allianz Field, Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties has proposed five stories of multi-family housing in the northwest corner of Shields Avenue.

The mixed-use building, which could break ground this summer, would replace a former Furniture Barn storefront at 441-453 N. Snelling Ave., between Shields and Spruce Tree Drive, as well the neighboring World of Wireless building. Concept plans include ground-level commercial space, ground-level and underground parking and 137 housing units, from micro-studios to three-bedroom apartments.

Next door, in the southwest corner Snelling and Shields, Wellington Management hopes to replace the one-story Bremer Bank building with 156 apartments over new bank space. “I believe the two projects plan to get started around the same time,” said Long, the director of the Union Park District Council.

At the corner of Snelling and Carroll avenues, the Gaughan Companies plan the five-level Liffey on Snelling, 89 market-rate apartments ranging from studios to two-bedroom units. “We’re looking to break ground this summer,” said Dan Hebert, senior vice president with Forest Lake-based Gaughan.

North of Snelling and University Avenues, developer MWF Properties tore out the former “Garden of Poetry,” a private park along Thomas Avenue. In its place now stands the Thomas Avenue Flats, a three-story, 51-unit complex consisting of one-, two- and three-bedroom affordable apartments.

In 2016, Project for Pride in Living completed the four-level, 108-unit Hamline Station apartment building in the 1300 block of University Avenue, the site of a former Midway Chevrolet dealership.

By Selby and Snelling avenues, the one-story 1940s-era O’Gara’s Irish tavern has been torn down. The Ryan Cos. and Excelsior Group plan to resurrect it with a smaller bar footprint and co-working space, as well as 163 new apartments overhead. The developers previously developed the Vintage apartments and Whole Foods across Selby. They hope to open on St. Patrick’s Day in 2020, Long said.