Grocery chain Hy-Vee Stores Inc. has plans to open a West St. Paul store on a site now owned by the YMCA of the North.
The Pioneer Press reports on the confirmation of something long suspected by many since last winter — that the Iowa-based grocery chain, currently making an aggressive expansion into the Twin Cities market, was the unidentified retailer that had approached the YMCA about its location at 150 Thompson Ave. E.
Neither Hy-Vee nor YMCA officials would confirm anything until this week, when the nonprofit disclosed Hy-Vee's interest in an email to members.
The Y is interested in selling and is seeking another location, but plans to keep the current facility open through mid-2019.
City officials will discuss a development agreement with Hy-Vee at a Monday meeting.
The sale also affected the adjacent Thompson Oaks Golf Course. West St. Paul moved to close the nine-hole course earlier this year after the YMCA announced it planned to sell its facility because the 10-acre property includes two of Thompson Oaks' nine holes. The Y leases them to the city.
Hy-Vee, which entered the already competitive Twin Cities market in 2015 with a New Hope location, has since opened eight more stores and has several others in the works.