St. Paul developer plans purchase of Victoria Crossing East Mall, former Billy’s site, for redevelopment

A St. Paul developer has plans to redevelop half a block of real estate on the north side of Grand Avenue, likely replacing the mall at Victoria and Grand, the former Billy’s on Grand restaurant and a residential property to its east.

Ari Parritz, founder of Afton Park Development, said he has not yet closed on a purchase of the properties though his company and its partners, though they have the sites under contract. The locations include the Victoria Crossing East Mall, home of the Juut Salon and Paper Source crafts shop, as well as the former Billy’s, now known as the Gather Eatery and Watch Bar. The purchase would also include two surface parking lots and a three-story house that has been subdivided into apartments and is partially occupied.

Parritz was the project lead for developer Reuter Walton on the Kenton House, the five-story development that replaced the Dixie’s on Grand restaurant by installing 80 luxury apartments over new commercial real estate on ground level. The Kenton House houses two longstanding eateries that returned to the site after its redevelopment, Emmett’s Public House Irish Pub and the Japanese eatery Saji Ya, and will soon house the soon-to-open Razava Bread Co. bake shop.

Parritz said Reuter Walton is not associated with his plans for the Victoria Crossing East Mall, though his vision is not far off.

“We’re envisioning a mixed-used development that would have active ground-level retail and apartments above,” said Parritz, in a brief phone interview Monday. “We’re still working through a variety of different concepts but we decided to just start with a rezone that’s independent of a specific design.”

For now, he’s intent on getting the half-block rezoned from business district zoning to “T3,” or “traditional neighborhood” zoning, which would allow mixed-use buildings with both commercial and residential units. Parritz made a presentation about his rezoning proposal to the Summit Hill Association on Oct. 17.

“We’re in the process of planning a bigger community meeting once our application is in,” Parritz said. “We’ve had discussions with the city, and we think we’re on the right track. We’ll be in front of the Planning Commission and city council in the December/January timeframe.”

In 2021, a divided St. Paul City Council voted 4-3 to allow the rezoning that enabled the Kenton House development to move forward. Since then, a majority of the council has stepped down, making way for new elected officials.

Nick Walton, a principal with Reuter Walton, said in an email his company “has nothing to do with that site. We’re very happy with our Kenton House project. But we wouldn’t build another competing housing project so close to our own new development given how tight the St. Paul rental market is right now.”