After years of waiting, St. Paul residents and United fans cheer small signs of progress for development by Allianz Field

Ahead of a recent Saturday home game at Allianz Field, fans of the Minnesota United arrived slowly at first to the Midway neighborhood, finding spots to park on side streets and trickling out of Green Line trains. Lines of fans formed across the broken ground and pieces of pavement where the team's owner promises development is just around the corner.

Fans and residents are eager to see something — anything — happen on the bleak blocks of vacant land that surround the St. Paul stadium, something to make the windswept lot more inviting.

And there are finally new signs of progress this winter. A McDonald's — the last business standing on the block — was demolished, clearing the site ahead of construction starting this summer.

Neighbors have waited more than six years since the silver soccer stadium rose, in place of an old Rainbow Foods and a strip mall with a basement bowling alley, to see something else built up around it.

Hopes for development among the Minnesota United fans lining up that Saturday centered on more places to be together with other Loons supporters.

"Restaurants would be a good thing," said Justin Baesler of Apple Valley. Just opening the bar in the stadium for away games would be nice, he said, to have that bigger space available to be in community with other soccer fans.

"Right now, I'd like a coffee shop," or somewhere else to grab a light bite outside the gates, said Courtney Keirnat of St. Paul.

Others said they would be happy with a more inviting outdoor area.

"It would be great to have a nice plaza where people can tailgate," said Curt Keitzer of St. Paul.

"If they made the lawn space nicer, people could hang out and play soccer," added Katie Ashpole of Minneapolis.

Empty feels even emptier

A normal weekday is a sharp contrast to gamedays at the future United Village. The empty land around the stadium was almost deserted on a recent day. A handful of shoppers carried groceries from Cub Foods and Target. The silver statue of a loon loomed alone on the corner of Snelling and University, a discarded syringe at its feet. A new playground opened to fanfare last fall, but was unused on this day.

"It's been a parking lot a long time," said Megan Henning of St. Paul, who lives nearby.

She hopes any new development will bring more business to local establishments.

"Anything that can sustain more restaurants, I'm all for that," Henning said. She added that she hoped development could bring restaurants and bars more traffic on other days.

Bill McGuire, who owns the soccer team and is leading development at the future "United Village" area, spoke to neighbors at a February community meeting. He said this summer will see construction begin on a 158-room hotel and two restaurants, including an upscale pizza-and-gelato restaurant.

The plan was scaled back significantly from the initial proposal for blocks of apartments and offices with a movie theater, he said. Office space and housing are still possible, he said, but there will be no movie theater.

There are signs of movement. Besides the demolition of McDonald's, the city also approved using $17 million in tax-increment financing in late 2023 to support the development.

Still, some remain wary of the development to come, and what it will mean for Midway residents and existing businesses.

Midway Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Chad Kulas said in a letter he hoped the development would mean jobs for Midway residents and opportunities for new and existing Midway businesses. Neighbors echoed these hopes at the February community meeting.

Soccer fans and neighbors all hope something will happen, soon.

John McCauley, a Cottage Grove soccer fan, said he's been hearing about the development right around the corner for years now, but he is starting to wonder when something will really happen.

"It's kind of stalled out a little bit," he said.