Doddway Shopping Center Listed for Sale, Redevelopment Among Potential Future Uses
Published: September 14th, 2026.
WEST SAINT PAUL MN — The longtime Doddway Shopping Center in West St. Paul has been placed on the market, with the property being pitched to prospective buyers as both a retail investment opportunity and a site with potential for future redevelopment.
CBRE is marketing the approximately 38,000-square-foot shopping center at 374 Bernard Street West, near the intersection of Smith Avenue South and Dodd Road. The roughly 3-acre property was built in 1953 and sits about 2.5 miles south of downtown St. Paul.
According to CBRE's marketing materials, the shopping center is currently only about 10% occupied, giving a future owner significant flexibility in determining what happens to the property.
CBRE describes the property as a "value-add" opportunity, suggesting a buyer could pursue new retail tenants, renovate and reposition the existing shopping center, develop a hybrid retail and mixed-use concept, or potentially consider a larger redevelopment of the site.
The listing specifically identifies potential multifamily housing integration as one possible long-term use of the property, citing residential demand in the Twin Cities and the site's location and zoning flexibility.
That does not mean housing or redevelopment has been approved or is certain to occur. The property is being marketed for sale, and CBRE's references to redevelopment describe potential strategies available to a future buyer rather than an announced development proposal.
The property's high vacancy could make a significant change easier for a future owner. With few existing tenants and limited long-term lease obligations, CBRE says a buyer would have greater freedom to change the building's tenant mix, renovate the center or pursue a different use.
Alternatively, a buyer could retain Doddway primarily as a shopping center. CBRE promotes the property as an opportunity to acquire the existing retail building below what it would cost to construct a comparable property today, potentially allowing an investor to spend money on renovations and attracting tenants rather than new construction.
The Smith Avenue and Dodd Road location is also being emphasized as a selling point. The property occupies a signalized intersection with established access and turn lanes along a heavily traveled route connecting West St. Paul with St. Paul.
The possibility of redevelopment at Doddway is not entirely new.
Rumors and discussion surrounding possible redevelopment of the aging shopping center circulated years ago, but those possibilities ultimately did not result in a redevelopment project. The reasons those earlier possibilities did not move forward are unclear.
It remains unclear who may ultimately purchase the property or what a new owner would choose to do with it.
The listing leaves several possibilities on the table, ranging from filling the existing storefronts and modernizing the shopping center to pursuing a more substantial mixed-use or residential redevelopment.
For now, no redevelopment project has been announced. The property's sale, however, could mark the beginning of a new chapter for one of West St. Paul's older neighborhood commercial centers.