Planned renovation of city hall likely to expand

A planned renovation of Eden Prairie’s city hall to accommodate the relocation of the police department is likely to expand into additional renovations to the City Center building, based on discussions at a city council workshop held May 21.

The council has previously discussed moving the Eden Prairie Police Department into the west end of the city hall building, in space previously occupied by United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) and the Eden Prairie School District. At this month’s workshop, architect Mike Healy of BKV Group presented the council with two options. 

Option 2 would limit the remodeling to moving the police department to the west end of City Center, for a total estimated project cost of $21 million. Option 1 would move all city department offices and meeting rooms to one level, leaving the lower level of City Center, including the current Heritage and Garden rooms, as well as the current police department, as leasable space. The total estimated project cost for Option 1 is $26 million. 

Both options include structural updates needed to ensure the building at 8080 Mitchell Road meets current code requirements, such as floor loads, and replacing HVAC systems that are nearing the end of their lifespan.

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The larger renovation would add additional meeting rooms to the building’s main level for city and community use and relocate IT and facilities department offices to the same level as other city offices. It would also add a single-user accessible family restroom to the building, plus a fitness facility to be shared by city and police staff, and an interior corridor connection from city hall to the new police entrance. Improving wayfinding and exterior signage is also a goal, Healy said. 

In this option, existing lower-level spaces such as the Garden Room and Heritage meeting rooms, as well as the current police department space on the east end of the building, would become potential leasable space.

Renovations to the west end of the building for police department use, included in both options presented to the council, would add a children’s space and a temporary detention area with an after-hours release lobby in addition to offices, labs and storage areas. A 54-stall garage for indoor parking of squad vehicles would also be constructed, and secure perimeter walls constructed between the police department and the rest of the City Center building. 

The larger renovation would also include 90 outdoor secure parking spaces for the police department and the potential future addition of a garage equipment space to the north, which would require the demolition of an existing playground. 

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Payment would include a one-time increase in city debt levy

City Manager Rick Getschow said the answer to how such a remodeling would be paid for is “debt.” The city’s total debt levy when including the full remodeling package, Getschow said, would be approximately $3.4 million. He noted that some neighboring communities are carrying debt levies of $8, $9, or $10 million.

“So we would still have one of the lower total debts and debt levies,” he said. “But at some point, I mean, you have to pay for something like this with debt.”

According to projections Getschow shared at the workshop, the police-only version of the remodel would add an additional $1.8 million to the city’s existing $1.16 million debt levy for a total of $2.99 million, a 38% increase in 2026. The full city hall remodeling package would an additional $2.3 million to the existing $1.16 million debt levy for a total of $3.47, a 60% increase, in 2026. His projections showed a 0% impact of the remodeling on the city’s debt levy in years other than 2026.

The city’s total current debt levy for 2024 is $2.5 million, and for 2025, it is projected at $2.1 million. In late 2023, the council approved using a one-time allocation of $2.8 million in public safety money from the state to purchase new fire trucks. Because of that, Getschow said at the May council workshop, “We don’t plan on issuing any debt for fire trucks.”

Projected costs for the city hall remodels shown at the May council workshop also included city use of a state sales tax refund to pay for public safety improvements.

The council took no action on the presentations at the workshop but asked questions about specific components of the architect’s proposals, including whether the police garage would include chargers for electric vehicles. Police Chief Matt Sackett said the garage construction would include pre-wiring and running conduit to be able to add charging stations as needed. 

“If you’re going to do it, there’s never going to be a cheaper time than now,” Council Member Kathy Nelson stated. “For me, I want it done right and I want it to last.” 

Next steps, Getschow said, would be to refine numbers and present the council with more information at future work sessions. If the project remains on its current timeline, construction bids would likely go out near the end of 2024.