Partners with a stake in the Asia Mall in Eden Prairie say they plan to bring a similar concept to the Northtown Mall in Blaine.

They announced the venture Wednesday at a news conference and said the complex featuring shops and restaurants will be open by the second half of next year.

Asia Mall "has been such a big hit and there's nothing like it in the Twin Cities," said Michael Bui, who is leading the effort to build what will be called Asia Village at Northtown. "This is an opportunity to build another one that is bigger and better."

Work to transform a 130,000-square foot space that once was Herberger's department store and is currently occupied by Becker Furniture will start in August and is expected to take 12 to 16 months, Bui said. When remodeling is finished, the area will feature retail, grocery and dining outlets. There also are plans for an event center to host weddings and parties, and even a patio.

"We want to showcase Asian culture, traditions and dining," Bui said. "We want to give people a reason to come back to the mall on a daily basis."

Bui said he also wants to put in a food hall that will be "unparalleled in the Midwest."

Another upside to opening at Northtown is ample parking, he said, a commodity that has been in short supply at Asia Mall, a similar complex which opened in 2022 in a former Gander Mountain store off Interstate 494 and Hwy. 5 in Eden Prairie.

"We don't have enough parking," said Bui, who has three shops at Asia Mall.

Northtown is also close to neighborhoods in Coon Rapids and Blaine where there is a growing Asian population, another reason Bui chose the north metro suburb for Asia Village.

The news is already creating interest from small tenants inquiring about leasing space in Asia Village, Bui said.

Two years ago, Blaine approved a master plan to redevelop and revitalize the state's sixth-largest mall and the area around it. Asia Village will be the first piece toward that, said city spokesman Ben Hayle.

"The city is excited," Hayle said. "It will change what the mall looks and feels like. It will bring vibrancy to the area."