The Smart Money Is On Sustainability

What’s better for a business than saving money? How about saving money and energy?

That’s the goal of a new pilot outreach program to businesses launching this September in north central Eagan — specifically near Town Centre Drive, Denmark Avenue, and Duckwood Drive. 

Approximately 50 small- and medium-sized businesses will be introduced to new ways, including utility-provided rebates and incentives, to lessen their energy usage and increase their bottom line. The effort supports Eagan’s Climate Action Plan and its energy efficiency goals, explains Eagan Sustainability Specialist Kelsey Barajas. 

Teams of two — one City of Eagan staff member and one utility staff member from Dakota Electric, Minnesota Energy Resources, or the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) — will visit each business on-site. Businesses will then learn about available energy audits and assessments, plus discounts, rebates, and more. 

For those interested in pursuing greater energy efficiency, CERTs will offer customized support and resources to get
started. “That may be as simple as swapping out incandescent or fluorescent light bulbs for LEDs — a quick and easy actionable step — or something larger like scheduling an audit,” Barajas says.

CERTs is a public-private partnership that includes the University of Minnesota Extension, the Great Plains Institute, the Southwest Regional Development Commission, and the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Its mission is to connect organizations and individuals in Minnesota to community-based clean energy projects. 

“We’re confident that CERTs’ follow-up assistance is likely to inspire businesses to commit to making these changes,” Barajas says. 

While this is the first such effort for the City of Eagan, other communities have pursued similar projects. A companion initiative for Eagan residents is also in the works.

“We’re hoping that by implementing this strategy, we gain some traction,” Barajas says, “so that we’re able to provide consistent, targeted outreach in the future.” 

If your business lies elsewhere in Eagan, but you’d like to get started saving energy and money now, visit your local utility’s website where you can find more information about resources, rebates, and audit scheduling. Or contact Kelsey Barajas or Gillian Catano at the City of Eagan by calling 651-675-5000.

Briefly: Curiouser Coffee & Elixirs, Vans and More

People

With 25 years of experience, Kevin Almendinger has been promoted to operations manager, Special Services, at Hunt Electric.

Inez Bergquist, a former consultant in governance and fundraising, has been named president of the Eagan Kick-Start Rotary Club.

Chef Thomas Boemer has been hired as culinary director of the Eagan-based Wondrous Collective restaurant group, which includes Burgers and Bottles, Farmer’s Grandson Eatery, and The Volstead House.

Storm Creek’s CEO and president, Teresa Fudenberg and Doug Jackson respectively, are among the 13 Minnesota finalists in EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Awards program. Winners will be announced in November. 

Jeff Sulzbach of Eagan has been named the new CEO of Northern Star Scouting. 

Business

Curiouser Coffee and Elixirs, a Wondrous Collective restaurant, will open its second location in September — this time in Eagan. Alice in Wonderland inspired both the coffee shop’s name and menu.

Portland Leather Goods, known for its high-quality leather handbags at affordable prices, plans to open at Eagan’s Twin Cities Premium Outlets this fall.

Vans, a sports footwear and lifestyle brand, opened at the sopping center this summer.

Government

Police Chief Roger New plans to retire this fall after three decades of dedicated service to the City of Eagan.

Eagan Attracts Two New Data Centers

Excelsior-based Oppidan has been building data centers since 2017, on both coasts and in northern Virginia. But this property developer’s newest data center will be in Eagan.

“It’s our first project in Minnesota and we’re really excited about developing one in our own backyard,” developer Pete Carbonneau says.

Construction of the 61,554-squarefoot, single-story 5MW data center (3621 Argenta Trl.) broke ground in June, and by late August the red brick walls were up. Carbonneau says this build-to-suit data center will be occupied and operational as early as October 2026. The client has not yet been announced.

Meanwhile, Boston-based Centra is dedicated to building neutral data centers — that is, those that house multiple clients and are served by various network providers — similar to the DataBank data center, which opened in Eagan in 2015. While Centra has a handful of data centers scattered across the country, they’re “looking to expand in the true Midwest,” says Bryson Hopkins, vice president of Technology and Ecosystem Development.

That includes its latest multitenant retail colocation facility in Eagan at the former Thomson Reuters’ dedicated data center (610 Opperman Dr.). At 150,000 square feet, “we plan to attract many customers into that facility.” Dubbed MSP1, this 12 MW carrier-neutral facility is scheduled to open by late summer 2026.

Why Are Data Centers Increasingly Important?

The exploding creation of global data — driven by artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) (e.g., computerized appliances, wearable devices, and more) — has driven the need for an ever-growing number of data centers, which store, process, manage, distribute, and protect data. 

“Even if you’re not using ChatGPT, you’re using AI when you’re searching online, using voice assistants, navigating apps, writing emails, and analyzing data,” says Jill Hutmacher, community development director at the City of Eagan.

Why Is Eagan So Attractive To Data Center Projects?

To begin, there’s “more and more fiber connectivity being built across the northern Midwest,” Hopkins says, asserting that all that fiber serves the increasing need for complex AI data processing. “Minneapolis is a good place for data centers serving that traffic.” 

Other areas receiving significant investments in data centers include Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan. “We’re eager to see if people track more investment in Minnesota,” Carbonneau says, noting that data centers can be economic accelerators; serve as a “big multiplier of ancillary jobs,” particularly HVAC technicians and network engineers; and significantly grow the tax base. “We think Minnesota would be a great place for data center investment.” 

Hopkins adds that the Twin Cities are known for their confluence of a skilled workforce, leading companies and startups, and great transit. All of these characteristics point toward the need for more data centers. 

Additionally, these two companies have found partners locally. “Eagan has done a great job welcoming new developments, and being business friendly with planning and investments in infrastructure,” Carbonneau says. The City of Eagan supplied land use approvals, while Dakota County, Greater MSP, and Dakota Electric provided technical and other assistance. Data centers may also be eligible for sales tax exemptions through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

Data Center Specifics

Oppidan’s small data center, sometimes called an industry edge data center, serves as a signal booster for the client’s network, helping with any latency issues. In other words, “sometimes things take longer to buffer or go through the internet. It really helps declog the system and move faster,” Carbonneau says. The Centra data center too will primarily serve edge workloads. 

The Oppidan data center emphasizes efficiency, both in terms of electricity use and water use. “We designed this prototype for this particular client,” Carbonneau says, “but we use those guidelines in our other projects too.” 

Centra also takes the environment into account. “We’re building to tight standards and use air-cooled, closed-loop designs,” Hopkins says, noting that water consumption will be minimal or even zero. Noise will also be nominal, thanks to high walls and on-site generators that are tested once monthly and used only in case of emergency.

Looking Ahead

Hutmacher notes that as the demand for suburban office space diminishes, data centers offer a land use with a high tax base but with little need for city services compared to other uses, such as residential or retail. “Data centers make sense as one component of an efficient local economy,” she says. 

So could Eagan welcome more data centers? Maybe. “As the pace of data center development projects has increased, Minnesotans have expressed concerns about water and electricity usage, as well as noise,” Hutmacher explains. While utility impacts can be mitigated with high-efficiency systems, she acknowledges the importance that Eagan residents place on the natural environment — effects on water and energy systems must be considered. 

“The City listens and evaluates each development opportunity on a site-specific basis,” Hutmacher says. “This is also true for data centers as we balance protection of natural resources, the need for economic development, and the ever-increasing demand for data.”

Starting A New Business?

When you’re an entrepreneur, you wear all the hats: CEO, sales VP, HR director, chief accountant, webmaster, IT guru, and chief bottle washer.

Fortunately, if you’re starting a business in Eagan, multiple free resources are available, including these two: 

Open To Business: A certified Open to Business consultant, provided by the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) and funded by the City of Eagan and Dakota County, helps small businesses in Eagan tackle start-up challenges, business plan development, financial analysis, and more. Direct financing and loans are also available. For more information, call Natalie Mouilso at 952-451-6390. 

DEED: The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) offers a wide variety of business assistance programs on the topics of starting a business, financing a business, hiring workers, and much more. For all the options, visit mn.gov/deed/business/.