Petition To Save Historic Theater Delays Robbinsdale Hy-Vee
MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Hy-Vee says it's delaying plans for a grocery store in suburban Minneapolis after a push to save a historic theater on the site.
Hy-Vee had planned a 91,500-square-foot grocery in Robbinsdale, a northwest suburb, which would have been its seventh location in the Twin Cities. The Des Moines-based company quickly became a target for people seeking to save the historic Terrace Theatre from being demolished to make way for development on the 10-acre site.
They gathered more than 1,000 signatures calling for a boycott of the grocer.
The city of Robbinsdale posted a survey online last week and urged residents to vote on the project.
The city of Robbinsdale posted the results as of Monday morning on their Facebook page. The Robbsindale-residents only response was 86 percent for Hy-Vee and 14 percent against.
Hy-Vee spokeswoman Tara Deering-Hansen told the Star Tribune that the company will "continue to assess the situation."
The Robbinsdale City Council will address the issue at a special City Council meeting on Aug. 23
"Over the past several weeks, it's been difficult to witness the friction our proposed project has caused among Robbinsdale residents," Hy-Vee spokeswoman Tara Deering-Hansen said in a prepared statement. "When we enter a community, we want to be respectful of our neighbors' history, culture and all the things that matter to them. We will continue to assess the situation and keep communication lines open with city officials."
City leaders were due to discuss a demolition permit for the theater Tuesday.
"We're going to continue fighting this," said David Leonhardt, who has led preservation efforts. "We acknowledge the area needs to be redeveloped; we just feel (saving) the Terrace should be included in it."
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