Discount grocer Aldi and the gym Planet Fitness will move into Sibley Plaza on St. Paul’s West Seventh Street before the end of the year, according to officials with property owner Paster Properties.

“We will begin construction in the next couple weeks,” said Mike Sturdivant, director of development with Paster. Sturdivant said the lease with Aldi has been finalized.

“We’re excited with the two new anchor tenants and feel pretty good they’ll help attract additional tenants,” he said.

Until now, the Highland Park strip mall has suffered from a declining tenant mix, with occupancy dropping well below 50 percent. Plans to raze and replace the 1950s-era retail center with new housing, retailers and underground parking fell apart about two years ago, and departures continued.

Sibley Plaza’s midsized anchor tenant, Cooper’s Foods, closed shop at the location in late 2017 after 20 years of serving the neighborhood’s mixed-income community, including a large population of East African and Russian Jewish immigrants at the Sibley Manor apartments across the street.

For Hiwot Abraha, a tenant of the nearby South Highland apartments, Aldi’s arrival can’t come fast enough. There’s a Lunds grocery on Ford Parkway, and the nearest Cub Foods is located in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood. The closest Aldi is at Lexington Parkway and University Avenue.

“I have to drive 15 minutes,” she said.

Dawit Tekle, whose family runs an East African eatery called the 5-Star Cafe within Sibley Plaza, called the grocer a good fit.

“Aldi’s might be helpful for the community,” Tekle said. “That’s where most people shop.”

With Aldi and Planet Fitness on the horizon, Sturdivant said he was “very confident that the center will stabilize in a short period of time.”

TUESDAY MORNING OUT, PLANET FITNESS IN

Still, another departure is imminent.

Tuesday Morning, a home decor and holiday store, has operated at the plaza’s northern end for roughly 30 years. The store will close April 21 after being unable to reach a long-term lease agreement with Paster Properties.

But Sturdivant said the retail space won’t be empty for long. Planet Fitness will occupy the location currently filled by Tuesday Morning, as well as area that had once been a Champps restaurant and bar, and the retail space in between.

Sturdivant projected that occupancy of the strip mall, which spans roughly 94,000 square feet, will reach 65 to 70 percent in the near future.

Neighborhood residents have discussed the possibility that Paster Properties is in discussions with T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, but that’s not happening.

“That’s not in the works at all,” Sturdivant said.

What’s more likely, he said, is a sit-down family restaurant to serve neighborhood residents.

“We’re always trying to bring in retailers that match up with the surrounding community,” he said.

Paster Properties also is installing an Aldi grocery near Cub Foods off Phalen Boulevard and Clarence Street on St. Paul’s East Side. Construction begins in roughly two weeks, Sturdivant said.

NO CHANGE TO LAYOUT

Despite the two new arrivals, one thing that won’t change at Sibley Plaza is the layout. Ambitious redevelopment plans had once called for razing the 60-year-old shopping plaza and starting over with new housing, underground parking, a higher-end fitness facility and a Fresh Thyme grocer. Related Articles Metro Transit workers reject contract offer, vote to authorize strike

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A planned partnership with Bader Development fell apart around 2016.

Sturdivant said no such “raze and replace” changes are planned. “Layout will remain the same,” he said.

Lucille Collins, a Lilydale resident who frequents a nail salon at Sibley Plaza, recalled a time when the strip mall bustled with activity.

“They’re really propping it up, and I think it’s good,” said Collins, while pushing a cart through the aisles at Tuesday Morning. “It’s a good location. These stores all were full at one time. And then all of a sudden, it just went away.”