EDSR INFORMATION 04-09-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Economic Development Association of Minnesota Page 2 of 2 The pressure to get something done was there. And there was not a shortage of interested parties. Big Box was always an option. When the housing market took off there were proposals for high-density residential, but the city did not waver. Smaller-scale office projects were pushed. One by a medical device companyin 2003 would have included a 115,000-square-foot office and R&D facility with plans for growth. But the city's vision was a minimum of 450,000 square feet of upper-end office. In 2006, Opus Northwest signed a purchase agreement on the site and began discussions with the city of a master plan for the property. They began the process of updating Medica's environmental review and land use approvals. They also began discussions with Cargill, and recently announced them as the first and possibly only tenant in the 750,000-square-foot office campus, Excelsior Crossings. The project will be a class A office campus and "second headquarters" for Cargill. It will be constructed in three phases beginning in April and will ultimately house approximately 2,500 employees. The $130 million project will include a large water feature, multi-decked parking, connections to the regional trail system and a landscaping plan that uses native plantings. Cargill recently announced that it will seek LEED certification, making this one of the first commercial buildings to go green. It is felt that this project will be a catalyst for redeveloping the east end of Hopkins and have other positive impacts on business and housing. "Securing a class A office project with Cargill as a tenant is truly the best redevelopment project the city could hope for," said Jim Kerrigan, Hopkins Director of Planning and Economic Development. http://edam.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1 &subarticlenbr=191 3/30/2007