In a Star Tribune account of Burnsville Center, maintenance supervisor Brion Aune said, "We're just telling people, the mall's still here," as he walked the corridors he visited growing up in Eagan. It's a strange thing to have to say out loud about a mall with more than a million square feet of retail space off I-35W. But after Sears closed in 2017, after Macy's followed in 2025, after the building appeared for two seasons on a documentary series called "Dead Malls," Aune's line makes sense as a mission statement.
What's less obvious, if you've been waiting for the headline reopening anticipated since 2023, is that the mall has already come back. Just not through the door you've been watching.
The Petting Zoo Opened. The Food Hall Is Still Being Built.
Two projects have defined Burnsville Center's comeback story, and they've moved at completely different speeds.
The first is Sustainable Safari, the exotic indoor petting zoo that took over the former Old Navy space at the mall's southeast end. It cleared a contentious Burnsville City Council vote in August 2023, over objections from animal rights groups who, as the Star Tribune reported, called a mall petting zoo "preposterous," and it opened before the end of that year. Today it's a working business with regular hours, Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., where visitors can feed capybaras, hold young kangaroos, and walk into a parakeet enclosure with more than 200 birds. From proposal to paying customers: about five months.
The second is Ate Ate Ate, the nine-vendor food hall and adjoining Enson Market Asian supermarket slated for the old Gordmans department store in the mall's north extension. Its opening date has moved several times since plans were unveiled.
How the Food Hall's Opening Estimate Moved, 2023 to 2026
A build this size, in a mall with several owners and a large footprint, rarely keeps its first estimate. Here is how the projected opening date shifted from one public update to the next.
| When | Projected Opening | Status at the Time |
|---|---|---|
| Early 2023 | Lunar New Year, January 22, 2023 | Project was just entering the city's formal planning process |
| December 2023 | End of Q1 2024 | Project still in development |
| March 2024 | A press release projected an opening before summer | Vendor lineup still being finalized |
| May 2024 | Developer told the city council August or September 2024 | Mayor Elizabeth Kautz voiced frustration at the pace, noting the developer's projects in Eden Prairie and Blaine had moved ahead |
| June 2025 | Developer Christina Le told the council "we're almost to the finish line," grand opening expected by end of year, with a January 31, 2026 deadline set for exterior renovations | As of July 2026, local coverage still described the project as "bringing" the food hall and market, with no confirmed opening date |
Council Member Vince Workman described the mood at one of those meetings: "the community is very antsy for this project." The developer's answer at the same session was that the work was nearly done. Meanwhile, plenty has been opening and getting approved across Burnsville.
What Landed While Nobody Was Watching the Gordmans Space
While the marquee project continued its build, a second, quieter wave of businesses has been taking shape across Burnsville, most of it approved or opened in the past year alone:
- Element Indoor Golf, a full-service indoor golf spot with a bar and kitchen, opened in the Burnhaven Drive shopping center at 14314 Burnhaven Dr.
- SkaterApolis, the mall's existing indoor skate, bike, and rollerskate park, got city approval to add an outdoor skatepark near the old JCPenney.
- Hounds Town, a commercial dog kennel and daycare, is coming to 12255 Nicollet Ave S.
- A new Kwik Trip with 20 fueling stalls and a car wash was approved for the long-vacant corner of Highway 13 and Diffley Road.
- Big Hits, a proposed multi-sport eatertainment complex with a driving range, pickleball courts, and an event center, is working through approvals at the Gateway near 11937 I-35W.
- The City Hall campus at 100 Civic Center Parkway is being remodeled and expanded.
None of that is the food hall project, and all of it opened or moved through city approvals while that build continued.
Why the Mall's Comeback Isn't Actually Stalled
Ate Ate Ate's longer timeline traces back to a documented cause. The Windfall Group, the Chicago-based developer behind the food hall, went on to buy the rest of the mall's nonanchor spaces, and the developer's representative told the city council that integrating the overall mall plans with the food hall project contributed to the delay. Equipment delivery for Enson Market added to it. That is a scope question on one parcel.
Separate approvals are moving along County Road 42 and Highway 13 at the same time. A July 2026 local roundup listed five cannabis businesses moving through the city, most along Highway 13, and a proposed auto-repair shop to replace an old Shell gas station and bait shop.
JCPenney and Dick's Sporting Goods remain the mall's main anchors, and Sustainable Safari and SkaterApolis operate inside the building today.
What's Actually Open at Burnsville Center Right Now
If you're planning a weekend stop rather than reading a development timeline, here's where things stand as of this fall. Sustainable Safari is open on its regular schedule at the mall's southeast end near JCPenney, reachable through mall entrance door #2 from the lower-level JCPenney parking lot. Element Indoor Golf is running at its Burnhaven Drive location. JCPenney and Dick's Sporting Goods remain in place as the mall's primary anchors. The north extension, where Ate Ate Ate and Enson Market are being built out, remains a work in progress. The exterior-renovation deadline set for January 31, 2026 has passed, and the July 2026 coverage listed no confirmed opening date.
If a food hall with a central self-serve beer and wine bar called Urban Oasis and a Nepal-style dumpling vendor named Amazing Momo sounds like your kind of Saturday, it's worth checking back before making a special trip. If you're just looking for something to do at Burnsville Center this weekend, Sustainable Safari and SkaterApolis are open now, and neither depends on the Gordmans space being finished.
If you're curious how the changes around Burnsville Center and County Road 42 fit into your own plans for a Burnsville home, Michael Finstad is glad to talk it through. Schedule a free consultation and home valuation.
