Report: SW Mpls. Realtor Poised to Remake Suburban World for Retail

A Southwest Minneapolis Realtor has plans for the Suburban World theater—and they don't involve reopening it as a theater, the Star Tribune reported. 

Instead, according to the agenda for the June 4, 2013 meeting of the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission, Realtor Jesse Olson intends to level the theater's raked floor and make other changes so the Suburban World (formerly the Granada) can be a retail store: 

Renovation and Partial Restoration of Granada Theater. The project proposes to renovate the Granada Theater into a retail store and would include restoration of the exterior, removal of the kitchen area, restoration of the existing theater space walls and perimeter circulation, and introduction of a flat floor to facilitate retail store experience and center entry to the theater for visual connectedness.

The theater, at 3022 Hennepin Ave. S., has sat empty for some time, the Star Tribune reported:

We reported in December that the landmark status of the 86-year-old theater—known known as the Suburban World—has scared off some potential buyers, leaving it vacant for more than a year. But it appears that's about to change. ... Realtor Jesse Olson said he could not disclose more about the development plans, including who the tenant would be.

Jesse Olson is a Realtor at the Coldwell Banker Minneapolis Lakes office, 3033 Excelsior Blvd., Minneapolis.