Kwik Trip to expand presence in Minnesota this year
Kwik Trip is set to open 11 new stores across Minnesota in 2026, expanding its footprint in the North Star State.
- The St. Cloud City Council approved a public hearing about a request to change zoning at 12 McLeland Road.
- A cannabis cultivation facility hopes to move into the site if the zoning is changed.
- Trantina Properties had the land rezoned from industrial to commercial last year to allow a proposed entertainment center, but that fell through.
Monday night’s St. Cloud City Council meeting was roughly 10 minutes long; however, that doesn’t mean important decisions weren’t made.
In the Feb. 23 consent agenda vote, councilmembers unanimously approved scheduling a public hearing about changing the zoning for 12 McLeland Road to industrial zoning, a change from commercial zoning.
The public hearing is scheduled for the March 9 city council meeting, according to the meeting agenda. City council meetings typically take place at 6 p.m. at the St. Cloud City Hall in the council chambers.
A proposed entertainment center, which would have hosted activities like go-karts and bowling was initially expected at the property, but that project didn’t come to fruition. Instead, a cannabis cultivation facility hopes to take its place at 12 McLeland Road.
Trantina Properties had the land rezoned from the industrial zoning to commercial last April to allow the entertainment center project. At the time, the company was working with Rice Companies to bring the project to fruition.
James Trantina III, the owner of Trantina Properties, appeared at the Feb. 10 St. Cloud Planning Commission meeting when the proposal was discussed by that body.
“We were just gonna do a family project there and just with the economy and with everything going on, we just feel that it’s the right fit for that area,” Trantina said at the Feb. 10 meeting.
Trantina told the planning commissioners there’s more interest in selling the property to someone to remodel. In an effort to make the facility more appealing to buyers, Trantina requested it be rezoned back to its previous industrial zoning.
The zoning request comes as Grow One, LLC looks to purchase the facility for a cannabis cultivation facility, according to an economic impact analysis performed by the Center for Policy Research and Community Engagement at St. Cloud State University.
If the cannabis project comes to fruition, it would directly create at least 85 full-time jobs with an average wage of about $63,000, according to the study. These positions range from cultivation positions, averaging around $56,500 a year, to management roles, averaging $155,000 a year. These positions come as St. Cloud State University builds out its cannabis program, a move that gained traction in 2024.
The facility is also expected to generate $631,000 in annual tax revenue and an economic output of $19.6 million.
Greater St. Cloud President NeTia Bauman supported the Grow One, LLC project in an email she wrote to the city. She said it would bring economic benefits with a lower impact to civilian life compared to many traditional industrial businesses.
“From a land-use perspective, the facility is more secure and has a lower impact than many traditional industrial operations,” Bauman wrote in the email. “It involves no outdoor activity, minimal truck traffic, no emissions visible to the public, and security systems that exceed standard industrial requirements. As a result, proximity to schools or other community uses does not introduce additional risk or interaction concerns.”
The project’s buildout would also benefit the area’s trade industry, according to planning commission documents. Renovations could cost nearly $6.1 million for services like DVAC, concrete, plumbing and other specialty services. The construction phase’s economic output is expected to be about $8.82 million, considering both direct and indirect factors, such as retail purchases by tradespeople.
At the Feb. 10 meeting, Planning Commissioner Clare Richards said she’s excited by the potential economic impact shown by the study.
“It (the economic impact analysis) made me very excited that we can attract these types of opportunities to the region,” Richards said at the meeting.
Grow One, LLC’s proposal comes after the building sat vacant for about four years. It was previously the Fingerhut / CompuCredit call center.
The proposed cannabis facility hinges on the St. Cloud City Council approving the zoning change, which the planning commission unanimously voted in favor of.
Grow One, LLC is based in Waite Park, according to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. It filed as a business on July 30.
Corey Schmidt covers politics and public safety for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
