Former State Farm site in Woodbury wins development approval

Woodbury city officials on Wednesday approved a plan to redevelop the former State Farm campus.

Florida-based developer Elion Partners, in a joint venture with Kraus-Anderson Cos. of Minneapolis, plans to redevelop the 100-acre site with offices, a Residence Inn hotel, banks, a high-end grocery store, restaurants and retail -- about 20 buildings all told.

The former 400,000-square-foot State Farm headquarters will be overhauled, as well. The insurance company moved into the building in 1994 and employed about 1,500 people there, but closed it 12 years later after moving operations to Nebraska.

The vote by the Woodbury City Council was unanimous, clearing the way for the 700,000-square-foot development that will be known as City Place. The property is strategically located at Interstate 94 and Radio Drive.

"The last 15 months have been a true testament of collaborative team work, and receiving this final approval is a reflection of a lot of hard work by many different people," said Shlomo Khoudari, managing principal of Elion Partners, in a statement. He noted the project "has already awoken interest from corporate users."

Matt Alexander, Kraus-Anderson's director of real estate development, said city approval was "the most important step in realizing the 'work-play-live' concept behind the development plan of City Place."

Kraus-Anderson expects to begin the site work on the multi-phased project later this fall, he said.

In May, a purchase agreement with TMI Hospitality was finalized to buy a site on the northwest part of the development for a 116-room Residence Inn hotel.

"The property sits at the gateway not only to Woodbury but to the entire metropolitan region, and has tremendous potential," said Woodbury Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens.