Author: Richard Lee

Residents will begin moving into Flagstone, Eden Prairie’s newest senior living community in the Fall of 2021. Under construction since November, 2019, it sits on a 6.8-acre parcel on the corner of Castlemoor Drive and Columbine Road with views of Purgatory Creek. Flagstone will meet a range of needs for residents 55 and older: independent living, assisted living, memory care and long-term care. In total, the community will have 148 senior independent apartments, 40 assisted living and 18 memory care apartments and 72 care center suites. The community has a number of floor plan options for independent living and assisted…

In August, 2020, construction began on the largest piece of undeveloped land left in the Golden Triangle. The one-story 130,000-square-foot industrial park facility will have 182 parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, 19 loading dock doors and 28-foot high ceilings. Construction will be complete in mid-June, 2021. The development is located at the intersection of Valley View Road and Golden Triangle Drive, just north of West 74th Street. The area is bounded by 494 on the south and 212 and 169 on the west and east, respectively. “This is one of the last locations available in Eden Prairie,” Kit Bennett,…

Picture this: It’s late 1994. You’ve got a big job inside a respected local company. Good pay and great benefits.  But, you and a colleague decide it’s time to create something new. That’s what Scott Knutson and Rick Peters did when they left Deluxe Corporation. Together they created InsideOut Studios to provide professional photography and videography to advertising agencies and corporate clients.  Eden Prairie Local News (EPLN) sat down with Scott Knutson to learn more about this Eden Prairie business’s history and its focus on 2021 and beyond. EPLN: You were Creative Director for Advertising at Deluxe. Why did you…

Amina Adeyemi began Veeyon Cakes in April, 2020 somewhat unexpectedly. A lawyer and 2014 émigrée from Nigeria, she began baking while studying for the bar exam. “Something to get my mind off books!” A friend asked if Adeyemi could make something for a friend. Adeyemi could and did. Word-of-mouth referrals followed. Today Veeyon Cakes offers custom cakes for every occasion. Its products are home-baked by Adeyemi in Eden Prairie and are “fresh, with attention to detail, custom decoration and no additives.” Flavors include vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, confetti, strawberry cake, lemon blueberry – and anything else a customer might request…

While Aaron Pearson’s ride to work is predictable, his work as VP of Public Relations & Analyst Relations for Stratasys has been anything but this past year. “Living and working in EP is great,” he says. “Eight minutes to work. Never more, never less!” “It’s been a year of resilience for our employees,” Pearson reports. “Working from home, lots of ups and downs.” And plenty of activity related to COVID-19 for Stratasys, one of the world’s leading 3-D printing, or additive manufacturing, companies. Stratasys has four facilities and about 800 of its 2,000 employees in Eden Prairie. First, the good…

Few businesses have escaped impacts due to the coronavirus pandemic.  Yet, smaller, more nimble Eden Prairie firms have moved to adjust, seeking to take advantage of the opportunities that 2020’s challenges also presented. Max Kim: residential painting Max Kim of Eden Prairie, owner of Kona Pro Painting LLC, has gone beyond video calls and started providing estimates virtually.  “Virtual estimating let us see the client’s space, get the necessary measurements, collect the client’s concerns all while protecting each other from potential exposure,” Kim explained.  “Residential interiors jobs slowed down considerably but virtual estimating still helped us there.  Our exterior painting…

Eden Prairie is home to the MN/ND chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry trade group for merit-based general and specialty contractors. EPLN sat down for a talk with its President, Bob Heise about COVID-19 impact and other issues. EPLN: Give us an overview of your membership and your mission. BOB HEISE: Sure. Our mission is to advance open competition in commercial construction with contracts being awarded irrespective of labor affiliation. For non-union contractors we provide lobbying support, training, recognition and best practices, and networking. We have 115 general contractors and over 200 specialty trade contractors in our chapter.…