Bizbeat: Burnsville makes way for new businesses

The Burnsville Inn and Suites closed this month to make way for a new hotel.

Plans are to demolish the 90-room inn and build a new hotel on the site, located east of Interstate 35W at 250 N. River Ridge Circle, according to James Prince, Burnsville Inn general manager.

Prince said by e-mail that the new owner "is planning on redeveloping the lot with possibly a new hotel and restaurant."

The new owner is Akota LLC of Dickinson, N.D., which bought the 5.5-acre property from Royale Hospitality Group, Inc.

Any new use will require City Council approval and no permit application has been received yet, said Jenni Faulkner, city Community Development director.

She expects the demolition to start in December on the site, located south of a new Wal-Mart being built to open next year.

The hotel dates back to the early 1970s, when it opened as a Howard Johnson motor inn. In the late 1980s, it was reincarnated as the themed hotel, "Fantasuites." Suites were decorated in themes such as "Caesar's Court" and "Arabian Nights."

Another building is slated to be razed in Burnsville: the vacant TCF Bank on Burnsville Parkway west of Nicollet Avenue in the Heart of the City area, Faulkner said.

The city has approved plans for a CVS Pharmacy to be built on the site, being developed by Wellington Management.

New business openings in Burnsville, Rosemount

Burnsville and Rosemount had two new shops open in November.

An Edible Arrangements franchise opened in Burnsville at 284 E. Travelers Trail.

FAA leaves Apple Valley for Rosemount

The top floor of the Eagle Valley Bank in Apple Valley is empty now that the Federal Aviation Administration has moved its regional office to Rosemount.

The office has about 15 engineers, who serve the five-state region, and needed more garage space for service vehicles, said Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce President Edward Kearney.

The agency moved to a sprawling building east of Hwy. 3 on 160th Street, he said.

City officials and the chamber, which also occupies the Valley Bank building, tried to find a suitable space in town for the agency but nothing worked, Kearney said.

Kearney said the shop has been bought by a Miami company, which will retain all the jobs at the store in Apple Valley.

Building permits up in Lakeville

Lakeville is ahead of last year for building permits issued.

The city has a total permit valuation of $61,058,327 through October compared with $47,887,658 a year ago. Commercial and industrial permits accounted for $9,224,000 of this year's total through October, more than double last year's value during the same period.

But the city has issued fewer single-family home permits, with 105 permits compared to 114 a year ago.