A St. Paul developer has plans to redevelop half a block of real estate on the north side of Grand Avenue, likely replacing the mall at Victoria and Grand, the previous Billy’s on Grand restaurant and a residential property to its east.
Ari Parritz, founding father of Afton Park Development, said he has not yet closed on a purchase order of the properties, though his company and its partners have the sites under contract. The locations include the Victoria Crossing East Mall, home of the Juut Salon and Paper Source crafts shop, in addition to the previous Billy’s, now generally known as the Gather Eatery and Watch Bar. The acquisition would also include two surface parking lots and a three-story house that has been subdivided into apartments and is partially occupied.
Parritz was the project lead for developer Reuter Walton on the Kenton House, the five-story development that replaced the Dixie’s on Grand restaurant by installing 80 luxury apartments over latest business real estate on ground level. The Kenton House houses two longstanding eateries that returned to the positioning after its redevelopment, Emmett’s Public House Irish Pub and the Japanese eatery Saji Ya, and can house the soon-to-open Razava Bread Co. bake shop.
Parritz said Reuter Walton is just not associated along with his plans for the Victoria Crossing East Mall, though his vision is just not far off.
“We’re envisioning a mixed-used development that will have energetic ground-level retail and apartments above,” said Parritz, in a temporary phone interview Monday. “We’re still working through a wide range of different concepts but we decided to simply start with a rezone that’s independent of a particular design.”
For now, he’s intent on getting the half-block rezoned from business district zoning to “T3,” or “traditional neighborhood” zoning, which might allow mixed-use buildings with each business and residential units. Parritz made a presentation about his rezoning proposal to the Summit Hill Association on Oct. 17.
“We’re within the means of planning a much bigger community meeting once our application is in,” Parritz said. “We’ve had discussions with town, and we expect we’re on the fitting track. We’ll be in front of the Planning Commission and city council within the December/January timeframe.”
In 2021, a divided St. Paul City Council voted 4-3 to permit the rezoning that enabled the Kenton House development to maneuver forward. Since then, a majority of the council has stepped down, making way for brand new elected officials.
Nick Walton, a principal with Reuter Walton, said in an email his company “has nothing to do with that site. We’re very pleased with our Kenton House project. But we wouldn’t construct one other competing housing project so near our own latest development given how tight the St. Paul rental market is right away.”