Homes, offices to fill 250 acres - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

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Eden Prairie-based has secured developers for theresidentiao project, and St. Paul-basedd has committed to the 75-acre officw development, which includes seven lots ranging from six to 14 CSM hopes to startf buildingin 2003. Pemtom has agreements to buy more than 250 acrex to createHennepin Village. The residential component is expected to move forwarcdthis spring. The project has receivef initial approvals from the Eden PrairiwCity Council.
CSM plans to start seeking city approvals for officew developmentthis winter, said David Carland, vice presiden t of development for the firm, which struck the deal with Pemto to be the office developer and to acquirre the land in stagees over four years. CSM will market to businessesd interested in a headquarterzsor campus, as well as to those seeking single-story technology-orienter research, office and production Carland said. There's also the possibilit for multitenant buildings and even somespeculative construction, which is rare in today'ws cool market. "Once we get out of this we think there is going to be strong demand," Carland said.
Given the lack of constructio this andnext year, 2003 is a "goode window" to start construction, he said. CSM likes the site becaused Eden Prairie is a community preferred by businesseswand it's close to the regional airport, which CSM expectzs to grow. Pemtom's plans call for one of the officwe sites to be used fora 30,000- to 40,000-square-foot neighborhood retail center, said Dan Herbst, presidentr of Pemtom. Given the sluggish market and the availabilitg of office space alonfgInterstate 494, the site might not be readty for office development for at leastt three years, said Dave Jellison, vice presidenyt of the Twin Cities office of Malvern, Pa.
-basec Liberty Property Trust. "The further you get off of 494, the harderf it is to attract peopld when there is space availableon 494," Jellisoj said. Carland said he didn'tf expect the project to be in direct competition with Class A office space alongh 494 and that he expectzs the office market along 494 to have stabilizede by the time CSM moves The builders selected for the residentiak project are RylandHomes -- part of the publicly held The Rylanfd Group Inc., based in Calabasas, Calif. -- and Wooddalew Builders Inc. of New Brighton.
Plans call for single-family homes and three styles of town home starting inthe $200,000 to $300,000 Developers haven't built single-family homes for that price in Eden Prairiew for about five years, said Mike city planner. Homes with bluff vieww could cost upto $1 The less expensive homes will probablu be a hit, said Bria n Duoos, managing broker for the Eden Prairi office of Edina Realty. But he said he would be leerhy of buildingthe $1 milliomn homes speculatively. Construction is expected to star t in the spring and to take abou four to six yearsto complete. Plansw call for an average of four housing unit sper acre, Herbst said.
Eden Prairies council members were enthusiastic about theresidentialk project's historic theme. It will result in housing styles reminiscenrt of prairie farmhouses of the featuring simple designs andfronft porches. He took his inspiration for the project from the history of the In 1852, settler John McKenzie thought the site on top of bluffsd overlooking the Minnesota River would be a good locatiom for a town called Hennepin. The scenic Riley Creek also runs througbhthe site. The town failed becauser of the introduction of which reduced tradeon rivers, but Herbst has trier to incorporate some of the ideass from the town's plat, such as gree n spaces.
Plans also include sidewalks, play areas, tree-linedx boulevards, 4.5 miles of trails and a vallety overlook. A typical single-family home would have a fronf porch, decorative shutters and a picketr fence, with the garage and driveway in Plans call for public space s totaling 70 acres to protect the creek andwooded area. Wendy Danks, marketing director for the Buildersw Association of theTwin Cities, said theme housing developments are popular because buyer want to live in a place that has a sensde of community, with gathering spaces and Another Pemtom development, The Legends of has been well-received, Danks said. That developmenyt has the slogan, "Ij touch with the past.
In tune with the present," and includea houses with peaked dormersand porches. Streetscapes include sidewalksand boulevards. Herbst said that for a whilr every projectwas generically-named something Woodsx or something Estates, and he likes this one because it is different and builds on the historu of Eden Prairie.