Author: Mark Weber

Eden Prairie should build on the anti-bias and de-escalation training its police officers and firefighters currently receive, according to a Race Equity Report prepared by the Eden Prairie Human Rights and Diversity Commission. That and other recommendations presented to and endorsed by the city council on Tuesday, Jan. 4, are meant to tackle racism and other inequities that may have grown as Eden Prairie has become more diverse over the last three decades. The report also recommends work to make city staff and leadership more diverse and city programs more inclusive. The idea of looking at race equity in Eden…

A flurry of apartment projects either under construction or in the City of Eden Prairie’s review pipeline could quickly increase the number of local households. The 24,790 Eden Prairie households identified in the 2020 Census would increase by 3.6 percent – more than 900 households – if three apartment projects that are already approved or seeking the city’s OK reach fruition and become fully occupied. Two other projects described as strictly conceptual at this point would raise those numbers even more. It reflects a Twin Cities-area multi-family housing market that is benefiting from what Matthew Mullins, vice president at Maxfield…

A City of Eden Prairie effort to reflect on race equity, diversity, and inclusion following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 has resulted in a Race Equity Report produced by the city’s Human Rights and Diversity Commission. The report will be formally presented to the Eden Prairie City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Among the commission’s recommendation is that the city enhance or expand its “de-escalation” training for Eden Prairie police officers and firefighters so that these techniques are top-of-mind. For more information about the Jan. 4 meeting of the city council, which starts at 7 p.m. at…

It was a jubilant moment. Well, as jubilant as is allowed at your average Eden Prairie City Council meeting. There were balloons, a standing ovation, and fists thrown into the air. All in celebration of the city’s acquisition of more than 30 acres from Hennepin County, at the cost of about $600,000, that would become the Birch Island Woods Conservation Area, located near Eden Prairie’s northern boundary with Minnetonka. “Without your support, in the ninth inning, with two out, this might not have worked,” activist Jeff Strate told the council. The moment was Dec. 4, 2001, and it was not…

Construction of an office building that would be the Twin Cities corporate home of Nor-Son Construction and Nor-Son Custom Builders was endorsed Monday, Dec. 13, by the Eden Prairie Planning Commission. The 15,400-square-foot, two-story office building would be located on Market Place Drive but also have frontage on Interstate Highway 494. The company currently has offices in Wayzata and a headquarters in the Brainerd area. The straightforward project only drew debate from commission members on the subject of using metal on part of the exterior façade. Some members wanted the use of a higher-grade metal cladding that would be less…

A proposal to build a 239-unit apartment complex along Eden Prairie Road north of Smith Coffee & Café was approved Tuesday, Dec. 7, by the Eden Prairie City Council, even as the council pledged to look at design changes that would make the building more attractive. Between now and the council’s final approval in January or February, the council wants city staff and the developer, United Properties, to reconsider the colors and building materials proposed for the 349,800-square-foot building to create “a new look,” as Council Member PG Narayanan put it. The current colors and building materials meet city code,…

The Eden Prairie City Council usually reviews plans for buildings that are going up. On Tuesday, Dec. 7, it looked at a proposal to take one down. The council OK’d plans by Shutterfly to demolish the western-most building of its two-building campus north of I-494, along Viking Drive, and leave the area open and green for its employees to enjoy. The campus was built in 1997 by Lifetouch, which Shutterfly purchased in 2018. Lifetouch was a leader in school photography, and much of the building proposed to be demolished contains empty studio space that is no longer used. The targeted…

There’s a newly married couple in town – malted barley and coffee beans – and the proud parents are Eden Prairie businesses: Fat Pants Brewing and Smith Coffee & Café. Fat Pants and Smith Coffee have collaborated to create a new, coffee-flavored stout beer called Smithereen, a playful use of the Smith name, which comes from the 1877 Smith-Douglas-More house that is home to Smith Coffee & Café. It’s the coming together of two locally-owned businesses and two longtime Eden Prairie families. Don Anderson of the Anderson family that owns and operates Fat Pants has lived in Eden Prairie since…

Police Det. Carter Staaf is breaking the ice with the boy tagging along at his side as they walk through Eden Prairie Shopping Center. “What’s your favorite subject in school?” he asks. “Play any sports?” adds Staaf. It’s a getting-to-know-you moment as the two participate in the Holiday with Heroes program Saturday, Dec. 4, at the mall. Police officers and firefighters from Eden Prairie departments have been paired with 13 children, ages 7-11, who were recommended for the program by a local nonprofit. On this Saturday morning the kids will “shop with a cop,” you might say, although this year…

A 239-unit apartment project north of Smith Coffee & Café along Eden Prairie Road is among the items on the Eden Prairie City Council’s agenda for Tuesday, Dec. 7. The project, called The Ellie, is proposed by United Properties and was recommended for approval Nov. 8 by the Eden Prairie Planning Commission, on an 8-1 vote. The apartment complex on Lincoln Lane would replace seven older, single-family homes. Also on the city council’s agenda Dec. 7 are plans to demolish the western-most, 117,000-square-foot building on the Lifetouch/Shutterfly campus at 11000 Viking Drive, and leave the area as green space. For…