Eden Prairie City Manager Rick Getschow, Eden Prairie Schools Superintendent Josh Swanson and Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce President Pat MulQueeny shared the stage at the 2024 State of the City event on Jan. 25, with each giving presentations highlighting their organization’s perspectives on its current status and future plans.
A packed audience of those who registered through the Chamber filled the lower-level Garden Room at Eden Prairie City Center to hear about new businesses opening in the city, the school’s plans to celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2024, business owners’ perspectives on legislative changes, and more.
New developments, new restaurants
Noting that, “A big part of anyone who comes to the State of the City, they want to hear about what the development activity is,” Getschow discussed some high-profile current or future developments within the city.
The city council’s recent approval for North Dakota-based medical technology company Aldevron’s purchase of a Flying Cloud building formerly used by Best Buy and Supervalu, he said, has the potential to bring 500 jobs.
Getschow added that “as many people work in that Golden Triangle area, within that 212, 494, 62 corridor, as live in the city” and referenced Mark Weber’s recent EPLN article on the potential that Eden Prairie is “becoming more of a med tech hub.”
Getschow also mentioned a housing development near Eden Prairie Road, south of U.S. Highway 212. This includes The Ellie, a 239-unit apartment complex south of the historic Smith-Douglas-More House, which now functions as Smith Coffee & Cafe. Additionally, a city reservoir designed to replicate a historic train depot has been constructed along the trail in the area.
Although he said he didn’t know what would happen with a building constructed near the intersection of Flying Cloud Drive and Prairie Center Drive that was initially intended to be an Amazon Fresh grocery store, Getschow did state that Eden Prairie Center mall has indicated that restaurant space formerly occupied by Prairie Ale House and TGI Friday’s will be Gyu-Kaku Asian barbecue and Ichido Ramen eateries.
Speaking of eateries, Getschow acknowledged community interest in two former Burger King sites, both now slated to be developed as car washes. “People like to say, why can’t you get some other restaurant? I think it’s a great idea, but it’s not a role the city plays,” Getschow said. “The city zones property, but also the Burger King franchises that own the property had clauses in their ability to sell that would not allow them to sell to any type of food business.”
Getschow also speculated that “the next thing is, what happens with JC Penney over the next couple of years?” and stated that the former Minnesota Vikings training facility area on Viking Drive is a possible future site of a mixture of office, retail and housing. Having mentioned his disappointment earlier at the Green Bay Packers’ failure to advance to the Super Bowl, Getschow commented, “The Wilfs still own that property, and I think their current commentary is, ‘Before we can really dive into that site, well, we need to get a quarterback.’”
Getschow also mentioned city plans to reconstruct a gravel portion of Dell Road “similar to what you see if you drive down to Flying Cloud Road or Lions Tap on Eden Prairie Road” and to install eight additional pickleball courts at Miller Park and four at Riley Lake Park. A new building at Round Lake Park, housing restrooms, a meeting room, and a winter warming room, is set to open soon.
He also spoke of the city’s “carrot” approach to sustainability, which requires developers seeking city funding or other assistance with their project to meet building standards that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, he said, the city continues to work on electrification of its vehicle fleet, including electric police vehicles, two electric Zambonis currently in use at the Eden Prairie Community Center, and more.
Perspectives on taxes, state legislation
Getschow, MulQueeny and Swanson all addressed taxes in their presentations. Getschow presented a slide borrowed from another city manager showing Eden Prairie with the lowest cumulative tax levy increase among 14 metro-area suburbs since 2009.
Swanson referenced an operating levy approved by voters in the 2022 election in citing statistics from a 2023 residential opinion survey performed for the school district by The Morris Leatherman Company.
“Whenever you do that, as a public school district, typically what you’re going to see in your survey data is that financial management goes down,” he said. “We stay very, very steady at 74% of our community saying yes, the financial management in Eden Prairie Schools is strong.”
Swanson said the norm for financial management approval ratings for school districts in the metro area is 52%.
MulQueeny also referenced a survey, this one conducted by the Chamber, which has over 300 members, polling businesses.
“Reduce taxes,” he said, “is the No. 1 thing that our businesses say.” Although most businesses responding are optimistic for 2024, “When we asked, ‘Is the economy on the right track?’ 52% say no,” he added.
Key dynamics from the survey influencing that answer include increasing costs, inflation, taxes and government regulations, MulQueeny said. When specifically looking at an additional 1% sales tax approved by the state Legislature in 2023 to fund transit and housing initiatives, MulQueeny said 55% of businesses responding to the Chamber survey said the increase had had an impact on them, with 45% citing no impact.
“These are things that we will continue to share with our elected officials and push forward to try to make adjustments with our Legislature,” MulQueeny said. Other topics he said the Chamber intends to broach with legislators include newly enacted statewide family and medical leave and sick and safe time laws, incentives for business growth and entrepreneurship, and equipping future workers, specifically in the area of vocational training.
Celebrating EP Schools’ past, looking to future
In the past year, MulQueeny said, the Chamber brought students to tour four different Eden Prairie manufacturers. He also used a portion of his presentation to highlight the Chamber’s student membership program, a partnership with Eden Prairie High School, which “allows the students to get a firsthand view of what businesspeople do, to interact with them, gain some experience, and have the opportunity to get internships and job shadows and identify future pathways.”
In addition to that partnership with the Chamber, Superintendent Swanson acknowledged a close relationship between the Eden Prairie school district and the city, citing historical connections. “The City of Eden Prairie and its schools have been sharing a stage for more than 160 years,” he said. “The town board of Eden Prairie held its first meeting in one of the log schoolhouses on May 11, 1858.”
Much of Swanson’s presentation focused on the history and celebration of Eden Prairie Schools. He noted, “In March 1924, the Eden Prairie Consolidated School District welcomed students and families back into their hometown just a few blocks from here, down the road, to the brick building that’s at the top of School Road.” Now known as the Administrative Services Center, that building, Swanson said, continues to serve as the site that welcomes new families and students into the district and will be the site of a citywide prom on May 18.
In addition to the prom, the school is planning a citywide parade on April 27 and a family fun day on May 17 “to celebrate Eagle Pride through the decades” as part of Eden Prairie Schools’ yearlong celebration of its 100th anniversary, Swanson said.
As for current district initiatives, Swanson also spoke about how the 2023-24 school year is the first in which strategies from a five-year strategic plan are being implemented.
The plan was developed in 2023 with input from school administrators, staff, students, parents, and other community members. A one-page handout provided to those attending the State of the City detailed the three strategies: authentic and personalized learning, wellbeing for students and staff, and inclusion and belonging.
Additionally, Swanson said, the district plans to launch a new website in spring 2024 and, “In 2024, we’re going to begin working with our community to identify the hopes and needs for experiences for students in our district over the next 10 years.” It has been approximately 10 years since the development of the Designing Pathways initiative, he said, and “It’s now time to envision the next 10 years.”
Beyond Swanson’s mention of the school’s celebratory events, both other speakers took the opportunity to promote upcoming events for their organizations, including the city’s springtime City Government Academy and the Chamber’s Everything Spring Home, Landscape & Garden Expo on March 9.
Comments
We offer several ways for our readers to provide feedback. Your comments are welcome on our social media posts (Facebook, X, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn). We also encourage Letters to the Editor; submission guidelines can be found on our Contact Us page. If you believe this story has an error or you would like to get in touch with the author, please connect with us.