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Silver Lake Village is a
mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
in the city of
St. Anthony, Minnesota St. Anthony, also known as Saint Anthony Village, is a city in Hennepin and Ramsey counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. At the 2010 census the population was 8,226, of whom 5,156 lived in the larger Hennepin County part of the city and 3,0 ...
, United States. It was constructed beginning in 2004 as a $150 million plan to replace Apache Plaza, an aging enclosed mall. Its design is meant to resemble a "walkable community", as its development includes housing, shopping, dining, and other services. Its name is derived from Silver Lake, located just north of the development, and from St. Anthony's nickname of "St. Anthony Village". Silver Lake Village is located along Silver Lake Road, north of 37th Ave NE. It is served by Metro Transit routes 4, 25, and 801.


History

Apache Plaza has historic significance because it was one of the first enclosed malls in the US, opening in 1961. It was the second such center in the state of Minnesota, after Southdale. Its design, by architect Willard Thorsen, was state-of-the-art at the time. Apache had a spacious center court with a
hyperbolic paraboloid In geometry, a paraboloid is a quadric surface that has exactly one axis of symmetry and no center of symmetry. The term "paraboloid" is derived from parabola, which refers to a conic section that has a similar property of symmetry. Every plane ...
roof ( hyperboloid structure). The paraboloids were concrete shells, shaped like an inverted umbrella. Ten of these paraboloids made up the roof of the center court, which was ringed with Mondrian-inspired
clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
windows. The mall had more than 60 stores at its height, as well as a large monthly indoor antiques and collectables show and a bowling alley in the basement. In the early 1970s, the mall was still thriving, despite the opening of nearby Rosedale. The larger mall would contribute to the Apache's decline, with the relocation of the Apache's anchor stores to Rosedale.


The decline of Apache

In the early 1980s, Apache underwent a major renovation, only to have its south end damaged by a
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
on 26 April 1984. Three days after the tornado, a major snowfall covered the area. Since it was spring, the snow quickly melted, flooding twister-damaged areas of the mall. The damage was repaired, and the mall re-opened on 15 November. Some of the original charm was lost, as the multi-colored clerestory windows around the center court were replaced with colorless glass. In the early 1990s, tenants began leaving the mall in droves. Herberger's opened at Apache in 1987, saving the center from demolition for 17 years. By 2000, the mall was nearly empty, but still open to mall-walkers. Around this time, Apache Plaza was voted as the "best place to dump someone" in the Twin Cities by the local alternative weekly
City Pages ''City Pages'' was an alternative newspaper serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews and music criticism, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a ...
. Apache was scheduled for demolition in April 2004. The final days saw the mall host a "Bulldozer Bash." This was intended to kick off plans for its successor development, Silver Lake Village, a
mixed-use development Mixed-use is a kind of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning type that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions are to some ...
. However, the majority of the people at the event were not there to celebrate the new shopping center, but came to share Apache memories and mourn the loss of what was once the center of their community.


Housing

Silver Lake Village has a number of choices, including traditional apartments, condominiums, and cottage-style homes. Most of this housing is new construction since 2004, but some properties, such as the Equinox Apartments, were constructed in the 1970s in the era of the Apache Plaza. In March of 2020, The Doran Group began a project of revitalizing the site of a vacant
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
located within the complex. The project, named The Ruby Apartments, had construction continue into October of 2022, when the first leases and purchases were made. The Ruby has 496 rooms, and brings a modern and urban feel to the complex.


Shopping

The center is anchored by Cub Foods
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
at the north. There are smaller buildings with other stores found in strip malls, including GameStop, Chipotle, Caribou Coffee, Leeann Chin, and Coldstone Creamery. The multi-use area also contains a gas station, bank, doctors office, and small pond with walking path and amphitheater. The city of St. Anthony operates a liquor store in the complex. Walmart closed the Silver Lake Village location shortly after the new SuperCenter opened in neighboring Roseville. Demolition of the existing Walmart building occurred in 2020.


Dining

Silver Lake Village is also home to various restaurants. The complex includes
Chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoking (food), smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican cuisine, Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex and So ...
, Leeann Chin, and Caribou Coffee. A Culver's is adjacent to the development also. A new restaurant called Steele & Hops opened in 2022 and provides the area with modern and classic dishes, as well as a heated patio for outdoor dining.


Services

Located in the mall are other services, such as a
Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...
retailer, salon, including a number of bank branches and health clinics.


Entertainment

Salo Park, named in honor of St. Anthony's sister-city of Salo, Finland, is located along the eastern edge of the complex, and its amphitheater is home to summer concerts. There are walking paths located near the park as well.


References


External links


Apache Plaza tribute site
History, memories, and numerous photos

{{Twin Cities shopping malls Shopping malls in Hennepin County, Minnesota Demolished shopping malls in the United States Shopping malls in Minnesota Shopping malls established in 2004 Shopping malls established in 1961 Shopping malls disestablished in 2004 1961 establishments in Minnesota 2004 disestablishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures demolished in 2004 Demolished buildings and structures in Minnesota