Downtown St. Paul's Penfield building will soon be home to an Aldi store. Photo: Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via Getty Images
Less than a year after downtown St. Paul became a grocery desert, Aldi is getting ready to move in.
Why it matters: Having a grocery store is a key amenity in civic and city leaders' quest to boost downtown's residential population. Losing Lunds & Byerlys in March 2025 was a major blow.
Details: An architecture firm applied for a $2.2 million permit to remodel the former Lunds space in the luxury Penfield complex at 115 10th St. E., according to city records.
Work is expected to begin March 16 and wrap up June 22, according to the application.
What they're saying: Aldi choosing the neighborhood is a sign of validation, St. Paul Downtown Alliance president Joe Spencer told the Star Tribune, which first reported the Aldi news.
"Despite a lot of obvious challenges we've had in downtown over the last months and years, the fact is that the downtown residential population is still growing," he said.
