Edina plans to transform ConAgra warehouse into public works facility

Where popcorn was once packaged, Edina is planning a new energy-efficient public works building.

The Edina City Council on Tuesday approved the sale of $14 million in general obligation bonds to buy and begin remodeling the former ConAgra warehouse at 7450 Metro Blvd.

If bond sales go as planned in April, the city could close on the eight-acre site in May and open a new public works building in about a year.

Fully developed Edina had searched for a site for a new public works building to replace its cramped old garage for almost a decade when the ConAgra building became available last year.

The new site is more than twice as big as the old public works site, where equipment is so packed together in the garage that sometimes two or three pieces of equipment have to be moved to get to the piece that's needed, said Wayne Houle, city engineer. There are safety issues, too, with mechanics working in areas where vehicles are being driven in and out.

"Our existing facility was built in 1954, built for the size of the city at that time, and we're more than double that size now," Houle said.

The city's initial budget for purchase and renovation of the 130,000-square-foot warehouse was about $22 million, but City Manager Gordon Hughes said he hopes competitive bidding for the construction work will knock that lower.

The warehouse was built in 1968 and used as a light-bulb distribution site before ConAgra made it into a popcorn packaging facility. The building, which has had several additions, is remarkably sound for its age, the City Council was told. Testing found no serious pollution problems on the site. Houle said that while the roof needs replacement, the existing shell and supports of the building will be kept.

Asked by council members how "green" a renovated building can be, architect Jeff Oertel said the city would be a good steward if it salvaged what's on the site.

"If you follow that old adage of leave well enough alone ... in many cases we'd be putting up block and masonry in areas where we'd take down block and masonry," Oertel said.

He said initial plans include skylights that allow natural light to flood areas of the building and lights that go out automatically in unused areas. Other possibilities include capturing heat to preheat incoming air and possible storm water retention on site.

Snowplows, street sweepers, lawn mowers and other utility equipment related to the upkeep of streets, sewers, parks and other public works will be stored in the new facility. City maintenance and park maintenance offices will be located there, along with the city engineering department, which will be moving over from City Hall.

Some Edina residents had lobbied the city to hang on to the site because it will be one of the few open pieces of city-owned land left.