Strip centers · Minnesota
Hmongtown Marketplace
Operating reinhabited strip mall in Saint Paul; not a development opportunity; peer is Bandana Square 4km away. · summary, model-written
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile6 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
3+ other atlas sites within 10 km
This site: 4 within 10 km computed · all sites with thisCounty lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012
This site: -14% census-cbp · all sites with thisReinhabited
This site: record · all sites with thisCivic and government
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisEntertainment and sports
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisRetail (continued)
This site: …new_use field record · all sites with thisNow
| Status | OperatingWikipedia no source |
|---|---|
| Strategy | ReinhabitedWikipedia no source |
| New uses | civic, entertainment, other, retailWikipedia no source |
Site context
| Housing permits, Ramsey County (MN), 2024 | 802 units in 5+ unit buildings, 80 in 2–4, 202 single-family; 2023: 1,581 in 5+Census BPS |
|---|---|
| Other atlas sites nearby | 4 within 10 km, 28 within 25 km: Former Sears store on Rice Street (0.9 km); Dayton's-Schuneman building (1.8 km); Bandana Square (3.6 km); Ponds at Battle Creek (7.2 km)computed |
| Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW) | 22,649 jobs in 1,377 establishments; average annual pay $43,305; employment location quotient 0.69; employment -2.1% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private |
| Jobs located in the tract, 2022 | 2,136 jobs; 72 in retail trade, 67 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 27123032700)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022 |
| Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract) | children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 41th income percentile as adults; 2.6% incarcerated at the 2010 count (946 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights |
| Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract) | not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 45.6%; median family income $31,351; 308 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS |
| Schools | St. Paul Public School District (PK-12); 15 public schools within 1 mile: ST. PAUL CITY PRIMARY SCHOOL; ST. PAUL CITY MIDDLE SCHOOL; St. Paul City High School; Upper Mississippi Middle AcademyNCES EDGE |
| Elevation | 860 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP |
| Storm events in the county, 2016-2025 | 111 county-logged events: 62 hail, 41 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 3 heavy rain; $1,157,500 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events |
| Homes for sale in ZIP 55103, 2026-09 | median list price $218,750 (-20.0% on the year); 15 active listings; median 38 days on market; 17% with a price cutRealtor.com Research |
| Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023 | 1,431 establishments (-14%); 26,110 jobs (-1%)Census CBP |
| Housing market in the county | typical home value $334,747 (+2% 1 yr, +9% 5 yr); typical rent $1,543/mo (+3% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research |
| Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024) | 13,258 vehicles a day on W Pennsylvania Ave (minor arterial, 4 lanes); 21 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS |
Summary, model-written
Hmongtown Marketplace operates as a strip mall in Saint Paul's Frogtown neighborhood, converted from a lumber company. It serves civic, entertainment, retail, and other uses. The Xiong brothers developed it as a reinhabited space (strategy: "reinhabit").
Why. It is operating (status: "operating") and is not a development opportunity (opp_score: 0.0, opp_reasons: "retrofit already built"). Its closest peer is Bandana Square (4 km away), also reinhabited. Housing market shows ZHVI at $334,747 (2026-09) with 1.7% annual growth. Retail establishments declined 13.5% (2012-2023) but employment remained stable. Traffic volume is 13,258 ADT on a minor arterial road (W Pennsylvania Ave).
Where it stands. Located in Frogtown, Saint Paul. Within 10km: 3 closed sites (Sears, Dayton's-Schuneman, Ponds at Battle Creek) and 1 operating peer (Bandana Square). Housing and retail trends show modest growth but declining retail establishments. Traffic data is current (2024).
For a planner
- Operational reinhabited site in a neighborhood with nearby closed retail clusters.
- Peer comparison available (Bandana Square, 4km away).
- Traffic volume supports retail use.
For a developer
- No development opportunity (retrofit already built).
- Housing market shows moderate growth (ZHVI +1.7% YoY).
- Retail sector declining in establishment count but stable in employment.
What we do not know yet
- Original developer details incomplete (only names listed).
- Truck traffic volume unknown (trucks_aadt: null).
- No parcel or deal specifics provided.
Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Bandana Square, Saint Paul, MN · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN; 4 km away
- Shoreview Corporate Center, Shoreview, MN · Office parks · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN; 12 km away
- Minneapolis City Center, Minneapolis, MN · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN; 13 km away
- Warehouse District, Minneapolis, MN · Industrial sites · same strategy: reinhabit; also in MN; 12 km away
Elsewhere on the web
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Multifamily screen
- retrofit already built
Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.
History and original facts
| Original developer | Toua Xiong and Nou Xiongnewtypes-extraction |
|---|---|
| County | Ramsey County |
| Census division | 4 · West North Central |
| Notes | Draft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: Hmongtown Marketplace was a lumber company site redeveloped into an indoor-outdoor marketplace focused on Hmong American products and culture, opening in 2004. |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, what is there now, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.
Background
Hmongtown Marketplace is an indoor-outdoor marketplace focused on Hmong American products and culture in the Frogtown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Sources
- Hmongtown Marketplace · CC BY-SA 4.0
1 quoted sentence
Hmongtown Marketplace