Front Street Plaza LLC approved for $1.16 million in grant funding to clear old Walgreens Site

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - The City of Mankato says that Front Street Plaza LLC has been approved for $1.16 million in funding from the Department of Employment and Economic Development to clear the site of an old Walgreens. This comes in preparation for an upcoming construction project.

Courtney Kramlinger with Mankato Economic Development, says that the project is set to create a new 150-unit apartment complex, a four story, 35,000 square foot office building, a two-story parking ramp and new retail and restaurant space.

With the grant money, Kramlinger says that the company will also be able to fund demolition of the old Walgreens, soil stabilization of the site to handle any remaining debris and the removal and replacement of surrounding sidewalks and traffic lights.

She says grant funding like this can make massive projects more manageable for developers that want to tackle them.

“Doing that has a lot of extra costs compared to developing something on a greenfield site, so it makes it more challenging to develop a project of this magnitude. These types of resources help to make projects of this magnitude happen,” Kramlinger said.

The project’s proposed zoning is set to go before city council later this April. If approved, Kramlinger says it could begin construction by late summer 2026.

If everything goes as planned, she says the company hopes to have the project finished by 2028.

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