Family friendly space Mexican cuisine retail, events and more...

Strategic Initiatives

Plaza del Sol

LEDC acquired this two-level cultural mall in August 2020. Ground broke on the new Plaza del Sol in early 2024, and when work is done, our community will have a cutting-edge business incubator, community event center, offices and more.

Plaza del Sol update: May 2024

If you’ve driven past Plaza del Sol recently, you might be wondering about what’s going on. While the outside hasn’t seen much work yet, crews have been busy. If you take a peek inside, you’ll see that interior demolition is well under way – now you can see all the way back to where the commercial kitchen workstations will be. What you don’t see in the image is the work that’s taking place to reinforce the second floor. Although the structure is in good shape, some additional supports are needed to be able to hold events with more than 350 people at a time on the second floor.

Is it contagious?

Kitty-corner from Plaza del Sol, another vintage beauty on Payne Avenue is getting a makeover. The three-story edifice, which was built in 1889, is currently getting a fresh coat of paint. The corner of Payne and Jenks, where Plaza del Sol is located, has always been a lively commercial node, and little by little we’re setting the stage for another century of success.

Plaza del Sol Fact Sheet

Yesterday

The building was originally built in 1902 as a furniture store. Since then, it has also been a pharmacy, brewery and, more recently, home to several Latino businesses.

The Payne-Phalen area of St Paul has been a destination for immigrants since the late 1800s. Swedes and Germans built many of the original houses and they later lived alongside Irish and Italians. More recently, Hmong and Latino have become woven into to the neighborhood’s social fabric.

Today

Plaza del Sol has over 26,000 square feet on the first two levels – plus a full basement. Even though Payne Avenue has a lot of foot traffic, the building fell into foreclosure in 2020. LEDC decided to purchase and renovate it to ensure it would remain a dynamic cornerstone of the community for generations to come.

Tomorrow

Work is already well underway. Once construction is complete, this building will be a cutting-edge model of inclusive business practices and green technology. The street-facing side will have small retail shops, and the rest of the main floor will house restaurants, a marketplace and common seating. The rear of the building will house a commercial kitchen that will allow multiple businesses to work 24 hours a day.

The upstairs will become an event hall that seats 350, plus community classrooms and LEDC’s offices. The basement will house other community-oriented small businesses.

Work is expected to be completed in 2025. Stay tuned for updates!