Hmong community reshaping Twin Cities

Fifty years ago, the first Hmong immigrants came to St. Paul. Today, they are reshaping the Twin Cities.
The Asian American Business Resilience Network (AABRN), in collaboration with Asian Media Access (AMA), is redeveloping the former Sears site in downtown St. Paul, which was acquired in 2023. The 17.45-acre site sits across Rice Street from the Minnesota State Capitol and stretches west to Marion Street.
“We want to turn the Sears building into an urban village,” said John B. Yang. “We’re trying to reconnect with the city in all directions.”
The plan is to redevelop the existing building to save resources and money.
The first floor’s 110,000 square feet will be divided into:
• Event space (25,000 square feet) for concerts and more;
• Multi-cultural food court (30,000 square feet) with food stalls, a commercial kitchen and dining area with indoor and outdoor seating adjacent to an outdoor amphitheater;
• 3D virtual reality and immersive theme park (30,000 square feet) with a soundstage and exhibition hall that will have events and ongoing cultural programming;
• Center for Wellness Technology (20,000 square feet); and
• Zen Garden (5,000 square feet) with bonsai displays, a koi fish pond, and stone arrangements.
On the second floor (58,000 square feet), plans are to have:
• Sports, tech and arts-focused charter school (30,000 square feet);
• Community center (18,000 square feet) with counseling and training rooms, co-working office space, and room for the offices of AABRN and AMA;
• Kids zone (10,000 square feet) indoor play area and daycare rooms.
Yang pointed out that they are working with not just the Hmong community, but also Reconnect Rondo and the larger Frogtown community. “Ideas didn’t just come from us, they came from the community,” he said.
The purchase price of the building and site was $8.2 million, and renovations will cost $14 million. When complete, the 168,000-square-feet of entertainment, business and employment will bring in an estimated $266,000 daily with 3,800 visitors, and create 160 jobs.
“We need partners to come in and help us build this development,” said Yang. The next step is to obtain site approval from the city. He estimates it will be 1-2 years before construction begins.
The portfolio of AMA and AABRN includes the $13 million Asia Mall project in Eden Prairie; the $5.2 million Columbia Park Business Center in Northeast Minneapolis; and the $450,000 multi-media arts complex in North Minneapolis.
The Pan Asian Center is currently redeveloping two large sites at the Maplewood Mall. “We want to make it into a landmark destination,” said Yang.
The former Sears site there, a 181,500-square-foot building on 14 acres, was acquired for $5.25 million on Nov. 3, 2023. On March 3, 2025, they also acquired the 225,000-square-foot former Macy’s that is on 10.4 acres for $3.25 million. The group expects to acquire another area this summer to bring their total to 727,717 square feet on almost 60 acres with 4,660 parking stalls. Maplewood Mall was initially built in 1974 and renovated in 2018. It is near Highway 61 and Interstate 694.
“The two projects are similar because they’re focused on the community,” said Yang.
Although the Macy’s site was more recently acquired, it needs less work to build out, and so it will be done first. “Everything is going so fast,” said Yang. “Plans are not set in stone.”
The plan is to create a Hmong Mall in the former Sears space on the first floor with a food depot, adult day care, event center, entertainment area, kid zone, and wellness marketplace. On the second floor will be professional offices, building services, a vendor marketplace, and “food country.” The space will be different from Hmongtown Marketplace, which has more of a flea market feel. Hmongtown Market owner Toua Xiong, co-founder Nou Vang, and manager Jameson Liu are part of the team redeveloping the Maplewood Mall.
“This is a super exciting project,” observed Tonya Bauer of the St. Paul Port Authority during a presentation on May 28, 2025 during the Midway Chamber Economic Development meeting.

HMONG HISTORY
Lee Pao Xiong is the director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University in St. Paul.
Hmong were in China 5,000 to 7,000 years ago, and are credited with being the first to cultivate rice paddies and forge metals into weapons, Xiong pointed out. After being defeated by the Chinese, they migrated to Southern China; 12 million still live in Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Szechuan, Chongqing, and KwangXi. The migration to southeast Asia in the 1800s followed failed rebellions (Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma).
From 1961-1975, 30,000 Hmong perished during the Secret War of Laos fighting as surrogate soldiers of the United States. Another 50,000 Hmong died between 1975 to 1980 after the war. They were recruited by the CIA after international agreements prohibited foreign troops in Laos, Xiong observed. The U.S. wanted to contain the spread of communism in southeast Asia.
“We saved about 50,000 American lives,” stated Xiong.
Hmong fled to Thailand as refugees, where they lived in such terrible conditions that when Minnesota Governor Al Quie visited the Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, he equated it to a concentration camp. He lobbied the federal government to send the refugees to Minnesota, and created the Office of Refugee Resettlement. Jane Kretman was its first director, and Leng Wong (a former CIA operative) on staff. St. Paul Mayor George Latimer created the office of refugee services and hired Amy Crawford as its first director.
Minnesota wasn’t the only one hoping to draw Hmong workers to the state. Iowa took out a full page ad in the New York Times.
Quie, who was a Lutheran minister, lobbied churches to help the refugees in Minnesota. Her Dang, a USAID employee, arrived in Elk River in November 1975. Leng Wong was sponsored by the Dayton Avenue Presbyterian Church (217 N Mackubin St.) and Macalester Plymouth United Church (1658 Lincoln Ave), resettled at Liberty Plaza (290 Arundel St), and now owns Sunrise Market on University Ave.
Hearing of Her Dang and Leng Wong, other Hmong followed their path to Minnesota, and the state population of Hmong immigrants grew.
“My family moved here in 1989 and University Ave. was all boarded up,” stated Xiong.
He credits the Hmong for revitalizing the University Ave. area, as they opened shops and restaurants.
Today, there are more than 66,000 Hmong in Minnesota, and the Twin Cities metro is home to the largest concentration of Hmong in America. Other concentrations are in California and Wisconsin.
“There is $2.3 million in buying power of Hmong in Minnesota,” observed Xiong. There are 9,000 small businesses owned by Hmong, who pay over $300 million taxes to the city, state and federal governments.
“They are moving from mom and pop shops to larger [businesses],” said Xiong. “People are slowly moving up.”
They’re also getting involved politically. Notable politicians include Mee Moua, the first Hmong American woman elected to the Minnesota Senate (2002-2011); Cy Thao, the first Hmong in the country to be elected to a state House of Representatives (2003-2011); and Dai Thao, the first person of Hmong descent to be elected to the St. Paul City Council. Now there are one county commissioner, one city council member, nine legislators, and one school board member. Ling Becker was hired Sept. 1, 2024 as the Ramsey County Manager. Suni Lee made history as the first Hmong American to make the U.S. Olympic team, and win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics at the Tokyo games in 2021.