Brooklyn Park City Leaders Address Closures to Retail Center
Just off West Broadway and Brooklyn Boulevard in Brooklyn Park, once-busy Caribou and Jimmy John’s storefronts sit vacant. Two larger stores nearby — Cub and Petco– are soon to follow later this month.
It’s hard for neighbors to feel like it’s not a trend. From a city perspective, Brooklyn Park Community Development Director Tim Gladhill said it’s understandable that neighbors are noticing. However, he assures that these vacancies aren’t permanent.
“We are definitely seeing a transition. Obviously, there are multiple tenants leaving that location,” Gladhill said. “We don’t like to see clusters of vacancies. So anything we can do to try to refill those spaces in short order is definitely good for the local economy, for a variety of reasons.”
Some of the vacant storefronts within the Jolly Lane property.
Time of Transition
A number of other businesses are located within that zone on Jolly Lane, including a Chipotle, Panda Express and Hooks Fish and Chips. Just next to the Cub, sharing a parking lot, is a Target. Gladhill said they are staying put.
“We’ve connected with, say, Target. Just to reconfirm their commitment to stay there, and we understand that’s true. We hear that Chipotle is still committed to their space,” Gladhill said.
Gladhill started working for the city of Brooklyn Park a few months ago.
He said he’s spoken to the owners of a number of vacant businesses in Brooklyn Park. Among those, there’s already interest coming back in. He said owners are exploring many different possibilities, including drive-thru options.
“I think some of the proposals that are already being talked about could start to see some good traction in the coming months, already,” Gladhill said.
Crime Data
Though public perception points to crime, Brooklyn Park police say that isn’t necessarily the case. At Cub, crimes are reported to be down. In unofficial crime data provided by the department, crime is up on the Jolly Lane properties– but police say these differences aren’t significant. Of the 12 reported crimes so far in the Jolly Lane area, six of them were thefts.
Unofficial crime data of the Jolly Lane property provided by the Brooklyn Park Police Department.
Brooklyn Park Inspector Elliot Faust said crime is down citywide by 10 percent. Violent crime in particular is down 18 percent.
He said activity at the Jolly Lane businesses don’t stand out from other shopping centers in the city.
“We don’t see high crime numbers in those businesses,” Faust said. “They’re not outliers, in that the crime is significantly worse. That’s just the big picture.”
What Can You Do?
Both the city and police department want to hear from neighbors about what they want in the corridor. They’re holding a community response meeting about those business closures in two weeks. That meeting goes from 6-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Brooklyn Park Small Business Center.
A Facebook post about the event said that “city leaders will discuss public safety, City actions, and resources available to residents.” They ask that neighbors come with feedback and ideas for the area.
