The Eagan Central Commons Special Area surrounds the intersection of Yankee Doodle Road, Pilot Knob Road, and I-35E. The northwest quadrant is home to the City’s Community Center and Central Park where festivals, concerts, and community-wide events are frequently held.
The Opportunity
Surrounding Central Park and Eagan Community Center are three large office parcels. Once bustling offices to Argosy, Delta, and Unisys, these sites are now vacant or underused and candidates for rehabilitation and/or redevelopment. The Northwest Central Commons provides an opportunity for the City of Eagan to advance economic development goals while delivering improved public services, housing choices, and recreation activities.
Project Information
This update reflects the information and draft proposal presented at the October 10 Special City Council meeting
At the Oct. 10 Special City Council meeting, the Eagan City Council reviewed a draft preferred plan for the Northwest Commons Special Area.
City staff and consultants presented a draft plan that is intended to communicate the City's vision for the redevelopment and reuse of private property surrounding Eagan Central Park.
Staff and consultants presented the process to date including:
- Initial three concepts,
- Small Area Plan timeline,
- Public engagement,
- A draft plan, and
- Policy guidance questions for the City Council.
The goals of the draft plan included:
- Balancing the needs and desires expressed by stakeholders including the City Council, community members, and property owners.
- Employing the guiding principles for the Northwest Central Commons Special Area Plan including:
- Support dense, mixed-use development with a range of retail, office services, medium/high-density residential, employment, and public space uses.
- Design the development to ensure cohesiveness with neighboring uses and enhance pedestrian connections.
- Respect existing site conditions and natural features — design with natural systems in mind.
- Strive for pedestrian-scale buildings that are two to four stories in height. Create identity through the design character of the edges, i.e., the streetscape, building placement, and gateway signage.
- Develop public gathering spaces or smaller, linked amenity areas (public or privately owned).
- Create an integrated transportation system that organizes pedestrian, bicycle, vehicular, and transit movements. Use streetscape enhancements to create an identifying character for the Central Area.
Key highlights of the draft plan presented:
The following is a rendering of the draft plan.
Unisys
An activity center with jobs, restaurants, and park oriented uses arranged in a compact and walkable pattern.
Delta
A series of mixed neighborhoods, closely connected to the park providing needed housing for a growing Eagan.
Central Park
The City's premier park, home to large events as well as daily recreation and respite; connected to the city with active trails and programs.
The vision presented would potentially result in:
- Expanded Central Park with preserved bluff and sustainability improvements
- Increase in public event parking
- More flexible field and event space
- Preservation of landscape buffer and compatible uses adjacent to existing neighborhoods
- Walkable commercial districts and connected neighborhoods
- Mutually beneficial land uses adjacent to the park
- High-quality jobs and high-value commercial tax base
- Public investments supported by development revenue
- Market-supported uses within a reasonable development timeline
Next Steps
The Special City Council meeting was an opportunity for council members to have a conversation and provide input to staff and consultants on the draft plan.
Final plan documents and implementation strategies will be presented to the City Council in early 2024.
The Council, staff, and consultants also acknowledged that the development time frame for the Northwest Central Commons Special Area could be up to 20 years.
Watch the full presentation, along with council member comments
Project Principles
Three of the key project principles:
1. Public investment is driven by the land use vision.
2. Area land use vision is market-driven and offers long-term development stability.
3. Balance demands public service with positive outcomes for Eagan.
The Goals
Previous Concepts
Major Area Considerations
Timeline
- Phase 1 Engagement - February - March: Gathering initial public feedback
- Existing Conditions - January - May: Understanding the site, its constraints, and opportunities
- Concept Plans - March - July: Visualizing potential future scenarios
- Phase 2 Engagement - July - August 20: Gathering public feedback on concept plans
- Preferred Concept - August - September: Compiling research, analysis, and public feedback into one future vision
- Special City Council Meeting - Tuesday, October 10, 5:30 p.m. Eagan City Hall
- Updates to Committees and Commissions- October-December
- Revisions and Preparation of Final Plan-October-December
- Final Plan Adoption, City Council-Winter 2024
More Information
If you have questions or would like further information on the Northwest Central Commons Small Area Plan, please contact
