MANKATO — Two strip mall developments are coming to the southeast corner of Victory Drive and Madison Avenue, including one that will feature a Cherry Berry self-serve frozen yogurt shop.
Developer Kyle Smith closed on property last week at the very corner of Madison and Victory. Next door and across Holly Lane, Trong Ho, owner of Pho Saigon, is close to closing on a lot behind his new restaurant.
Smith’s plan calls for a strip mall with three tenant spaces and room on the south end of the property for a future building.
The Cherry Berry shop, part of a national franchised chain, will occupy the northernmost spot, along Madison Avenue.
Ho said he is close to signing a tenant for a strip mall he plans to build behind his Pho Saigon restaurant later this summer.
“This is a very busy area and I’ll make it look very nice,” Ho said of the proposed 7,200-square-foot building.
The property he is buying is owned by Blue Earth County, which acquired it as part of the early Victory Drive expansion project. The county is selling the 0.42 acre parcel for $102,000 or $5.58 per square foot.
Ho said he will have to replat his restaurant property to add about 15 feet to the new parcel so he has enough room for the new building and parking.
Smith has several other projects in progress in the area.
He purchased the former Happy Dan’s gas station on Commerce Drive in North Mankato and the former Oasis on Minnesota Avenue in St. Peter.
Both are being converted to commercial properties. In St. Peter, the building was removed. In North Mankato, part of the building was kept and will be remodeled and expanded into a 4,500-square-foot space.
Smith also is doing a major renovation and expansion of a strip mall near the Minnesota State University campus. The mall is near the corner of Monks Avenue and Stadium Road, across Monks from the new CVS Pharmacy. Tenants there now include Yu’s Chinese Cuisine.
The building will include 13,000 square feet of retail space in the expanded ground level and 24 units of student housing that will come with the addition of two floors.
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