Redevelopment of Vikings parcel may be nearer

Several potential development projects, including the former campus of the Minnesota Vikings, were shared with Eden Prairie City Council members on Tuesday, April 4.

The possibilities were part of an economic development update presented at a council workshop, as has happened in past years.

Why it matters: The projects are conceptual only – and some may never reach the city council for approval – but they hint at what might be ahead for development and redevelopment of Eden Prairie properties and are potential additions to the property-tax base.

Economic Development Manager Dave Lindahl said that the construction of apartments and some commercial space was discussed in December with representatives of the Minnesota Vikings. They still own the 13-acre property northwest of the Interstate 494/Highway 169 interchange, where the Vikings’ Winter Park corporate campus and practice facility were located for many years before the team moved facilities to Eagan.

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The property, including indoor and outdoor playing fields, has been leased by Life Time Fitness as a stand-alone sports and training facility since 2018, the year the Vikings – owned by Zygi Wilf and other Wilf family members – moved those facilities.

“They’re showing apartments,” Lindahl told council members about conceptual plans for the property. “As you know, the Wilfs are apartment developers; that’s how they made their fortune. They want to build apartments on the back half, and the front half do kind of a combination of apartments and commercial development.”

While the discussions are preliminary, city staff has encouraged the property owners to build on a scale similar to the Elevate and Paravel apartment projects in Eden Prairie, which are seven stories tall, since the Vikings property is in an area that would support the increased traffic.

“They were hoping to come in with a project this year, so we’ll see,” Lindahl added.

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Here are several other possible development projects that were part of the update:

• Potential construction of a Bush Lake Pet Hospital in southeastern Eden Prairie, at Hennepin Town Road and Pioneer Trail. Plans are being reviewed by city staff, but no public hearings have been scheduled.
• Possible construction of 126 senior assisted-living units southwest of the intersection of Crosstown Highway 62 and Baker Road. The first phase would repurpose a 9,000-square-foot office building on the site, and phase two would be a 32,000-square-foot addition. This concept plan also is under review by city staff, with public hearings not yet scheduled.
• Coincidentally, there are concepts to build car wash facilities at both former Burger King locations in Eden Prairie – a Crew Carwash proposed at Highway 5 and County Road 4, and a new and larger Mister Car Wash at Flying Cloud Drive and Prairie Center Drive. The separate plans are under review by city staff.

The update also included information on several existing office complexes for sale, including the 105-acre United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) campus on Bryant Lake. Lindahl said UNFI, as with many other companies that are adjusting to hybrid work environments sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, is looking to consolidate employees in a smaller building elsewhere.