What's Planned For St. Cloud's Old Herbergers Building Downtown

The former Herberger's Department store building in Centre Square mall in downtown St. Cloud has new owners. St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson met with the group, known as Granite Commons out of Minneapolis recently. He says they are in the early development of concepts for the facility and Anderson expects to see a more detailed look of their concepts in the next month or 2.

Herbergers (photo courtesy of Stearns History Museum)

Retail/Professional Service Plan

Anderson believes the group plans some sort of retail or professional services type of businesses. He expects the 2nd floor will continued to be leased out to Encore Capital. Herberger's has been closed in downtown St. Cloud for 8 years. Granite Commons has developed other existing buildings into retail/professional service use in the Twin Cities in past years.

Flock Cameras

The city of St. Cloud has "flock" cameras in numerous high traffic areas in St. Cloud. Mayor Anderson says they've been in use for the past 5-6 years and are maintained and accessed by the St. Cloud Police Department. He says they were initially designed to be license plate readers to catch individuals who had committed crimes. Anderson says people want a safer community and those who commit these crimes to be held accountable for their actions. Anderson estimates that St. Cloud has less that 12 in operation in downtown St. Cloud, along University Drive and other high traffic areas. Flock cameras are fixed roadside cameras that photograph license plates, vehicle make, model, color, body style, and unique identifiers like bumper stickers or scratches. Every record is saved with an exact time, date, and location.

Mississippi River, photo by WJON.com's Jim Maurice

Drought

Drought is becoming a bigger concern in Central Minnesota due to the hot, dry conditions we've recently experienced. Anderson says there are no current watering restrictions but he encourages responsible water usage, watering every other day, for instance until we receive more rain. He says if the drought conditions worsen, it is possible that an odd/even water restriction could be put in place.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Jake Anderson, click below.