Economic Development Bus Tour, Part 2: Heading downtown, wherever that is

If you live or work in Eden Prairie, or even have just driven through, you’ve probably seen plenty of changes. Some businesses and buildings are new. Some are gone. Some have been altered. 

The Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce sponsors an annual Economic Development Bus Tour that highlights what’s gone on in the past year. This year’s tour took place in July and was emceed by David Lindahl, economic development manager for Eden Prairie.

Ride along on the tour in this three-part series to learn more. This is Part 2. Read Part 1 here. Part 3 will be published tomorrow.

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If you’ve lived in Eden Prairie for any length of time, you know the city doesn’t have a true downtown. The Eden Prairie Center mall is often informally considered to be the city’s central hub.

During the 2025 Economic Development Bus Tour hosted by the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, David Lindahl, the city’s economic development manager, discussed why Eden Prairie never developed a downtown – and what might change in the future.

As the bus passed the mall, Lindahl explained that Eden Prairie never developed a main street or downtown, unlike cities such as Hopkins or Excelsior, because it jumped from township to suburb so quickly.

To create a downtown feel near the mall, “we’ve been trying to add more density in this area and build a little more critical mass,” Lindahl said. The city also hopes to incorporate “vertically integrated” developments, with commercial space on lower levels and housing above.

For instance, Lindahl said the city owns and leases the property at 8098 Glen Lane, now occupied by Eden Prairie Montessori child care. “We’re holding that so someday, when this strip mall redevelops, the whole thing could be redeveloped into a higher-density, vertically integrated development,” he said.

The strip mall he referred to is Frank’s Center on Glen Lane, which houses businesses such as Dollar Tree and Petco.

Nearby, as the bus passed the Eden Prairie Liquor store at 2018 Den Road, Lindahl noted that the city leases the rest of the building to Chuck & Don’s and Lotus Nails. When the building was first constructed, the city leased 5,000 square feet to Hollywood Video.

“They basically paid for the building,” Lindahl said. “So it worked out really well, and the tenants that we have there now help pay for the maintenance of the building and some of the other things we do, like with our economic development fund.”

The future of the Eden Prairie Center

At Eden Prairie Center, with JCPenney’s closure last year, the future of that space is top of mind when it comes to development. There is still uncertainty surrounding what will happen.

Lindahl said the original plan for the space was “aggressive.” Not only would the JCPenney have been repurposed, but about 300,000 square feet of existing retail space also would have been used to develop a mix of hotel, housing and offices. 

The plan fell through because it would have been too expensive, Lindahl said. 

“The problem is it was going to be so expensive that, even with help from the city through tax increment financing … the developer basically came back and said, ‘There’s just no way we can make the numbers work, even with (the city’s) help,'” Lindahl said.

Lindahl said the development approach now focuses only on the JCPenney parcel and the parking lot.

“Obviously, the city’s going to do whatever it can to support the mall’s efforts to be successful, because that’s 1.3 million square feet,” Lindahl said.

Turning attention away from the JCPenney and toward the new restaurants in the mall, Lindahl asked Nancy Litwin, the mall’s vice president, for more information.

Gyu-Mai, a new Japanese barbecue restaurant, has fire tables to cook food in front of diners, Litwin said. Another Asian restaurant, Icchido Ramen, opened next door with fast-casual bites. Both are located on the Flying Cloud Drive side of the mall, with exterior entrances.

Litwin also pointed out a new salon where Panera Bread used to be called Phenix Salon Suites. Beauticians can rent suites in the space for their businesses. 

Something old, something new

As the bus traveled on, the tour approached the new Mister Car Wash at 8340 Crystal View Road.

“What’s up with all the car washes? That’s like the No. 1 question I get, ‘Why car washes?’” Lindahl said. “Well, car washes are making a lot of money.”

The new Mister Carwash on Flying Cloud Drive was converted from one of the old Burger Kings that sat vacant, Lindahl noted. The location added more infrastructure underground to catch water to reuse for the carwash.

For those wondering what will happen to the old Mister Carwash location at 8280 Flying Cloud Drive, it will become a Veridian Credit Union, Lindahl said. The council approved plans for the project on July 15. 

Officials from Veridian said construction should begin this fall. 

Near the as-yet-unused Town Center Station light rail station, Lindahl called attention to the Flying Red Horse sign on Flying Cloud Drive and Town Center Place. The landmark used to be part of the Mobil gas station owned by an Eden Prairie family since the 1930s.

Mid-20th century pilots would use the bright red horse as a frame of reference when preparing to land at Flying Cloud Airport, Lindahl said. “That was a major landmark for Eden Prairie, which really had nothing but cornfields, for the most part,” Lindahl said.

The family donated the sign to the city, but it sat in disrepair for years, Lindahl said. The city finally got it back in working order this year, building a plaza with a placard explaining the history of the monument. 

The horse is not exactly where it once was, but it’s as close to the original location as possible, Lindahl said. The Wye Café and Mobil gas station was located at the 8061 Flying Cloud Drive site that now houses a Davanni’s restaurant.

Beyond the mall

Traveling away from the mall, the bus headed to Leona Road to check out new businesses.

The former Office Depot at 11609 Leona Road is now a Planet Fitness gym. A Starbucks was slated to go in at the other corner of the strip mall, but the chain backed out.

Lindahl said there have been conversations about another coffee shop with a drive-through at that spot. He added that a bank could also open in the area, possibly in the strip mall.

“I’m also hearing that (a) credit union could also go into the Cub parking lot back in that other corner, which apparently does not get used much, so they might have the capacity to do a little bank development in that corner,” Lindahl said.

While traveling along the route, someone asked Lindahl what was going to happen to the rumored Amazon Fresh at 615 Prairie Center Drive that never opened.

It will become Lava Island, a children’s indoor playground, which is opening later this year, Lindahl said. Families can get a day pass to use the facilities and can also use the location as a birthday party venue. 

“I’ve heard some people say, ‘Yay, great, if you have kids. If you don’t, maybe it’s not such a big deal,’” Lindahl said. “But if you’re a grandparent, it’d be a fun place to go with your grandkids, too.”

Toward the end of the tour, Lindahl turned his attention to the SouthWest Station parking garage at 13500 Technology Drive.

The parking garage is much less occupied than it was before the pandemic because fewer people are going downtown for work, Lindahl said. However, the city hopes new light rail stops and transit-oriented development will liven up the area. 

For example, across the parking lot from SouthWest Station is the Elevate at Southwest Station complex, with 14,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and apartments above, Lindahl said.

He called Elevate a very successful project. “When I talk about vertically integrated, that’s what we’re talking about,” he said.

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Editor’s Note: David Lindahl is a member of Eden Prairie Local News’ board of directors. Joanna Werch Takes contributed to this report.