Barnes & Noble Files Suit to Stop Mall's Residential Project

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Barnes & Noble, a major tenant in Edina's Galleria shopping center, has gone to court to halt the development of a $100 million hotel and condominium high-rise on the parking lot of the mall.

In a suit filed in Hennepin County District Court, the Dallas-based bookseller says the development by Galleria owner Warren Beck threatens to alter the character of the mall and hurt its business. The suit says the development, called the Westin Edina Galleria Residences, violates the terms of the lease Barnes & Noble has had at the center since 1991. Among other things, it says the lease prohibits the shopping center site from having "living quarters, sleeping apartments or lodging rooms."

Hennepin County District Judge Charles Porter recently granted a request by Barnes & Noble that prohibits Beck from beginning work on the hotel and condo portion of the project, pending the outcome of a trial. Construction of the 18-story tower, which is to house a seven-story Westin Hotel and 11 floors of condos, has been scheduled to start late this year.

But Porter denied Barnes & Noble's request to also stop work underway on a parking ramp that is part of the project. The ramp is to be completed by early December, according to court documents.

In a phone interview Monday, Beck said he is "looking forward to proceeding with the project." He said about 60 percent of the 82 condo units have been reserved.

According to court documents, Beck is selling the condominium units with contingencies that would allow the purchase agreements to be canceled if the development isn't allowed to proceed.

The Westin is one of three hotels of that brand currently planned for the Twin Cities area by New York-based Starwood Resorts & Hotels. The others are to go into the former Farmers & Mechanics Bank Building in downtown Minneapolis and the proposed Bridges of St. Paul mixed-use project.

The court documents also say that if Beck were prevented from building the hotel and condo, he would consider other uses for the site, including an office tower or additional stores.