The Macy's store in downtown St. Paul will close for good Saturday at 6 p.m.
But Mayor Chris Coleman is choosing to find the bright side: Instead of an empty downtown block-square building, he sees a downtown block ready for new and better things.
"End of an era and the beginning of a new one," says the mayor today.
Of course, we don't yet know what that era will bring.
The company announced at the beginning of the year that St. Paul was one of several under-performing stores around the country that will be closed.
It was no surprise after the expiration of a deal between the city and the store that called for forgiveness of a city loan if the store stayed open 10 years.
The mayor has said he expects there will be eventual interest in redeveloping the site, the block between Wabasha and Cedar streets, at 6th Street.
It likely won't survive in the big-box form we know today; 350,000 square feet is way to big for even an urban Target, which would be high on the wish list of many downtown workers and residents.
As Coleman told me in January:
"We're not precluding anything; we've not specifically discussed whether another retail might come in, and it's not an obvious opportunity for housing, but we'll have some great opportunities."