St. Paul’s Midway CVS site finally has a redevelopment plan, and the corner at Snelling and University could change fast
St. Paul MN – The former CVS at Snelling and University is moving toward redevelopment, with apartments, retail, and a city-backed power-line relocation.
St. Paul says a long-empty corner in Hamline-Midway is finally moving toward redevelopment. The former CVS at Snelling and University, one of the most visible vacant sites in the district, now has a private plan that could bring new apartments and street-level retail to the intersection.
The city announced April 23 that the project is advancing after the site sat vacant and became a neighborhood frustration following the pharmacy’s closure in 2022. St. Paul says the plan calls for market-rate apartments above retail space at street level, which would put daily foot traffic back at a corner that has been a hole in the commercial corridor for years.
One notable detail: the city says the St. Paul Port Authority will pay to move overhead power lines at the site, and that no other public subsidy is needed. That matters because residents often watch these projects closely for both the design and the public cost.
The site is important well beyond one building. Snelling and University is a key entry point into Midway, and the corner affects how the whole area feels to people walking, driving, or trying to use nearby businesses. A dead corner at that intersection has been hard to miss for commuters, customers, and neighbors who pass through it every day.
What is known so far
St. Paul’s announcement gives the broad shape of the project, but not all of the details. The city has not laid out a final timeline, and it has not said exactly how large the building will be. Those specifics still appear to be unresolved as the project moves through the next steps.
The broader message is that the site is no longer just a demolition story. After a long stretch of uncertainty, there is now a redevelopment proposal on the table for a corner many Midway residents had started to associate with vacancy instead of activity.
Why the corner matters
For nearby residents, the change could affect more than the look of the block. More people living at the site could mean more customers for surrounding businesses and more activity on the street, especially if the ground floor is leased to retail. For the corridor, that kind of reuse can help replace a boarded-up gap with something that contributes to the block.
It is also a practical location test for the neighborhood. A project at Snelling and University has to work for pedestrians, drivers, transit users, and nearby merchants all at once. That is why the design, parking, access, and timing will matter as much as the headline that redevelopment is finally happening.
For now, the main question is what comes next. Readers should watch for formal approvals, updated design details, and any construction schedule the developer or city releases later. Until then, the former CVS remains a high-profile site with a plan — but not yet a fully defined finish line.
