It's a landmark, but it's also unwanted

Hennepin County is getting ready to document the architecture of Eden Prairie's Gothic-arched barn and then tear it down to make way for a road project.

But state officials are saying not so fast.

First, they must be convinced there is no way to save the historic building, a Minnesota Department of Transportation official said Tuesday.

"I think some people are jumping the gun a little bit," said Liz Abel, a historical archaeologist with MnDOT's Cultural Resources Unit.

Hennepin County bought the barn at 4150 Pioneer Trail with the intention of razing it to make way for drainage ponds when it widens Pioneer Trail next year. The county, which acquired the barn and a nearby farmhouse through eminent domain for $1.3 million, is not interested in owning the structure long-term.

The city of Eden Prairie also decided it does not want the barn, and an open house that the city sponsored to get ideas from the public about its reuse did not produce any takers.

So Chris Sagsveen, the county road project manager, said the county is now getting ready to document the barn's architecture in preparation to tear it down.

If it can't be reused or moved, then it could be torn down, she said. But "we have not gone through the process of exhausting all the possibilities yet," Abel said.

"If indeed the county can't come up with any alternative ownership for it, they are going to need to prove that," said Abel. She said she is trying to arrange a meeting of all the parties involved next week with a goal of deciding what to do with the barn by Oct. 1.

The structure was built in 1942 and has been described by an architectural consultant as a mint-condition Wisconsin-type barn. A study by the city of the prospects for reusing it recommends that it be kept in place and used for storage.

Eden Prairie Mayor Phil Young and council members Jon Duckstad and Brad Aho said at a meeting last month that they opposed city taking ownership of the barn, even as a gift from the county.

"If the county would like to own the barn and keep it, that would be fantastic," Aho said. "But I don't want the city to be saddled with the cost of owning and maintaining it."

"I had sort of hoped the county would keep it," Nelson said. "I would see a situation where the county would keep it and the city might put programming in it."

The barn stands on an old farmstead across from Flying Cloud Airport. The county is preparing to widen a 2.6-mile segment of Pioneer Trail that runs alongside the airport, from east of old Hwy. 212 to west of Shetland Road.