hotprop111008
On the homepage
Vikings
Out There
Artcetera
Television
Hot property: Retail/senior housing in Eagan
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
More from Business
EAGAN RETAIL/SENIOR HOUSING CONCEPT
SW. quadrant, Diffley Road & Interstate 35E, Eagan
Type: Retail, senior housing, medical office, hotel
Housing units: 80 to 120
Retail size: 41,520 square feet (five buildings)
Lot: 10 acres
Developer: Positive Companies
Details: St. Paul-based Positive Companies, a development and construction firm that specializes in smaller-scale retail projects, is floating a concept plan to build a six-building complex of retail, medical office and senior-citizen housing uses at Interstate 35E and Diffley Road in Eagan on a 10-acre lot containing a single-family home and several accessory buildings.
The parcel is strategic in that it's highly visible from the freeway as well as from Diffley and Blackhawk Roads. It's also across the highway from a new Kowalski's grocery store, which has helped to establish the I-35E/Diffley Road interchange as an emerging retail node.
The project is in its early stages: The Eagan City Council is to consider whether to amend the city's comprehensive plan changing the designation of the parcel from being guided for townhouses to guided for retail and high-density housing.
"We're looking to find someone who's interested in partnering with us on the senior housing element," said Jay Feider of Positive Companies. "There's definitely a need for it in Dakota County. This is one of the last freeway intersections in Eagan left to be developed."
The concept plan shows four retail buildings of 3,600 to 15,000 square feet each; a building designated for a medical office or hotel at 9,520 square feet; and a senior-citizen housing building of approximately 100 units. Entry to the area would be from Diffley Road, which could prove to be a stumbling block: Feider says Dakota County has not been receptive to altering the road, which is a county highway.
The retail elements are ambitious given the tough economic climate, said Molly Townsend, a retail broker for Colliers Turley Martin Tucker's Minneapolis office. Her firm's research shows that retail vacancies in Eagan's smaller shopping centers have grown from 3.1 percent to 6.1 percent in the past two years.
"It'll be challenging to find retail tenants in that area, because even though it's high-traffic, it's also extremely residential," she said. "Landlords are really struggling now. But, on the other hand, there is some momentum there with the new Kowalski's. And people are still looking for medical office space."
Feider acknowledges that it's getting tougher to find "mom and pop" retail tenants, but says that good locations are still attracting takers.
He points to Positive Companies' nearby 14,500-square-foot Cliff Lake Marketplace, which he says is filled.
"Eagan is hot, and smart tenants are still going there," he said, adding that the company is also working on new retail projects in Eden Prairie, Hugo and St. Michael.
Broker Peter Armbrust of NorthMarq, who represents the new Cub Foods-anchored Diffley Marketplace several blocks away on Lexington Avenue, said the area features much-coveted high-income demographics and is also strategically placed along the I-35E corridor.
Don Jacobson
Don Jacobson is a freelance journalist based in St. Paul. You can reach him at hotproperty.startribune@gmail.com.
Recent Business stories
Motorola, Research in Motion sued over alleged patent violation for visual voicemail - December 29, 2008
Motorola, Research in Motion sued over alleged patent violation for visual voicemail - Patent holding company Klausner Technologies Inc. on Monday said it's suing Motorola Inc. and the maker of BlackBerry smartphones for allegedly violating its patent for visual voicemail. More
Blog: Patent Pending
Lights out at U energy conference. Irony police notified.
Just as Lawrence Kazmerski, a top official at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, was about to give the keynote address at the University of Minnesota's annual E3 conference at the RiverCentre in St. Paul, the lights went out, bathing the audience in darkness and a deep sense of irony.
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments