Brooklyn Center Walmart Sold to Ethnic Supermarket
After Walmart shuttered its doors in Brooklyn Center last April, new owners have possession of the property.
A representative of Sun Foods Supermarket, located at 6350 Brooklyn Blvd., told CCX News that the company purchased the building.
Three sources have confirmed to CCX News that the building, located at 1200 Shingle Creek Crossing, was sold to new owners.
Sources confirmed to CCX News that the vacant Brooklyn Center Walmart building has been sold to new owners.
New Owners
According to the city of Brooklyn Center, the sale was finalized on Dec. 29.
Official details on the sale have not been made public.
The real estate agent that brokered the deal declined to comment on the buyer or future tenants.
Walmart — the previous owner of the building — did not respond to a request for comment. Gatlin Development, the Florida-based developer of the Shingle Creek Shopping Center, also did not respond to a request to comment.
As of the afternoon of Jan. 5, no certificate of real estate value was available in state records. Hennepin County assessors valued the property at $11 million in 2023.
Walmart previously served as the anchor store at Shingle Creek Crossing. The shopping center replaced the former Brookdale Mall.
Built in 1962, the Brookdale Mall was one of the four original “Dale” malls in the Twin Cities region. It fell from popularity in the Great Recession and was later redeveloped as Shingle Creek Crossing. The Walmart store opened to great optimism.
“We’re looking at rejuvenating Brooklyn Center and starting that redevelopment over and building the city up again,” said former Brooklyn Center Mayor Tim Willson in 2011. “And this is just the start.”
But when Walmart closed last April, Brooklyn Center City Manager Reggie Edwards called it a “devastating and a major economic loss to our region.”
Meanwhile, Brooklyn Center police told CCX News that the store and shopping center was a hotspot for crime and calls for service.
Sun Foods Supermarket says it bought the former Walmart building in Shingle Creek Crossing.
Ethnic Grocery Store Buys Property
Sun Foods is an ethnic supermarket offering a diverse variety of goods.
Reuben Tarr, a shopper at Sun Foods, said he was “excited” to hear that the ethnic grocery store plans to expand.
“I’m from West Africa, Liberia, and this is like one of the only stores that always has everything that you need as Africans,” Tarr said. “Every African country comes and shops here, Middle Eastern comes and shop here. Hispanics come and shop here. It’s just universal, that’s what I like about it.”
