Pawn America Coming to Inver Grove Heights?

Salem Square co-owner Roz Peterson has tried for years to find an anchor tenant to fill a vacant 30,000-square-foot space in the strip mall.

After the previous occupant, Home Valu, closed up shop in 2008, Peterson attempted to recruit a fitness center, second-hand stores and even a church—anything that could bring more foot traffic to the strip mall, which is situated on roughly six acres of land near the intersection of Interstate 494 and South Robert Trail.

Now, Peterson has found a potential anchor for the mall complex: Pawn America, which wants to invest upwards of $300,000 into Salem Square and open a store there next spring.

But before Pawn America’s plans can go forward, the Inver Grove Heights City Council will have to rezone the property and update its ordinances to permit the business to open. City officials expect the process will be complete by January, pending approval by the city’s Planning Commission and the council.

A Decades-Old Ordinance

The city’s ordinance governing local pawn shops dates back to the 1970s, and is in dire need of a significant revision, according to several city officials.

To overhaul the ordinance, the city has turned to West St. Paul’s recently revised ordinances regarding pawnbrokers, Inver Grove Heights Interim Police Chief Larry Stanger said. Much of what needs to be added to the ordinance, Stanger said, revolves around how police work with pawnbrokers to prevent stolen items from being sold at a pawn shop—and the safeguards those pawn shops must abide by to prevent the sale of stolen goods.

To prevent any criminal activity, Pawn America spokesperson Chuck Armstrong said the company places a holding period on all its items before they are sold, has video monitoring systems in place at all their stores and adds recently-purchased items to a database monitored by area police agencies. The pawn stores also record and verify the identity of every seller who completes a transaction with the store.

“The reality is very few stolen items come into a pawn store because of these safeguards,” Armstrong said.

But the city will also have to rezone the Salem Square property to allow Pawn America to move in at the site. The site is currently zoned as a B-4 shopping center district—a more restrictive classification that prohibits certain types of businesses, including pawn shops.

Inver Grove Heights Community Development Director Tom Link said the city would likely considering rezoning the property to B-3, but said the rezoning would have to be reviewed by the Planning Commission and council before it is approved.

"Cities want to see empty retail space used and leased, and that’s a challenge in today’s economy for all cities," Link said. "Whether Pawn America is the right fit or not, that remains to be determined, but certainly we’d like to see that space leased out to someone."

The “Right Fit”

Peterson and Armstrong argue that the business fits well within the current development and would be a boon to the community and nearby businesses.

Once completed, Armstrong said, Pawn America would likely employ 30-35 employees, 80 percent of which would be full-time with benefits. The store, which would be 60 percent retail space and 40 percent warehouse space, would also become an active member of the Inver Grove community, Armstrong said.

Pawn America has 11 locations in the Twin Cities area, the closest of which is in West St. Paul. But the company, Armstrong said, is looking to expand in the southeast metro area, and believes the site in Salem Square is an ideal location because of its proximity to the interstate.

“We have a strong clientele base in that general area, and we think this store will add a tremendous benefit and value to people in that area,” Armstrong said.

“I think it’s a great fit,” Peterson said. “Just getting an anchor tenant in the center will already help the traffic for the other tenants.”