Parks and recreation play a vital role in creating healthy, vibrant communities. The City of Eagan’s comprehensive park system, built over the last 60 years, provides spaces for its residents to recreate, exercise, learn, gather, and enjoy nature and solitude. 

As Eagan continues to grow and change, the City’s Parks and Recreation Department is preparing for the future. By analyzing demographics, recreation trends, and environmental factors, they ensure that the park system remains flexible, equitable, and sustainable. Every 10 years, the department develops a Park System Master Plan, a road map that builds on the previous plan to create a framework for the upcoming decade. Today the City is entering the planning stage for the 2026 plan.

Q&A with Parks and Recreation Director Andrew Pimental

What’s the goal of a park master plan?

Think of it this way — the plan is a guiding document. At home, you develop a personal budget, a plan to guide you throughout the year. But things come up that aren’t in the plan. You have to have flexibility. For example, our last plan mentioned converting a few tennis courts to pickleball, but demand led us to build 17 dedicated pickleball courts!

What metrics do you use to create the plan’s goals?

The National Recreation and Parks Association has standards that look at park metrics and are based on recreational trends. We use those, along with population and community demographics, to get a feel for what our system will need.

What was the most visible outcome of the 2016 plan?

Several initiatives stand out. One was ADA compliance to make parks more accessible. Winter recreation was another big one (look at Goat Hill) — and so was updating our arts facility. Another focus was making sure all residents live within a 10-minute walk to a park or fishing pier. This standard replaced the older half-mile to a park metric. A 10-minute walk is a more equitable standard since not everyone has a car and might be walking to their destination.

What themes will we see in the 2026 plan?

I expect an emphasis on asset management, and opportunities to integrate park assets into a geographic information system (GIS) mapping program to provide an accurate plan of when we need replacements. We can use this to reinvest in things as they age out. Equity will remain a focus, ensuring our parks serve all residents. Sustainability will also be a major theme as we continue to reduce our environmental impact. 

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Last Updated: January 31, 2025

For more than 20 years, the Eagan Community Center (ECC) has been a hub for people of all ages to recreate, connect, and build community. Beyond the ECC, though, our individual parks also offer a place for meeting and connecting. The seniors’ quilting group is one example of that community connection.

Visit Quarry Park on nearly any Tuesday morning and you’ll find a group of Eagan residents, 50 years old and up, creating quilts. Between four and seven women gather weekly to work on their projects — and to socialize.

“It’s good for us to get out and do something,” says group leader Beverly W., hitting on the well-supported concept that gathering with others supports both mental and physical health. According to the Mayo Clinic, socializing has sweeping benefits, including sharpening memory and cognitive skills, boosting happiness, and even helping people live longer. 

THINKING LOCAL — AND BEYOND

Even though the group is small, they donated a whopping 89 quilts in 2024. Throughout the years they’ve given quilts to local organizations, including The Open Door, fire and police departments, Kaitlyn’s Kloset, the Community Action Partnership, Dakota Woodlands, Brookdale Senior Living, and many more. And each year they donate a quilt for the raffle at the senior holiday party.

More recently, after a suggestion by member Kay G., the friends sent 15 quilts to Keepsake Quilting after Hurricane Helene hit last summer. This North Carolina organization then distributed the quilts to those in need in the impacted area.

A TEAM EFFORT

The group has a surefire process for making a quilt as a team: First, they plan the pattern, Beverly says. Then they coordinate the fabric pieces for the top, determining how much fabric is needed for each color and piece. Then comes measuring, cutting, and sewing, with pressing between various steps.

Individual members make many of the quilt tops at home, using some or all of their own fabric. They bring these together at their Tuesday meetings and attach them with an inner layer and backing. Then they tie them with embroidery thread or yarn. Next, Helen G. takes them home and sews on a fabric frame called a binding. When she returns the quilts to the group, they attach a label to each that says “Made by Eagan Senior Quilters.”

CRAFTING AND COMPANIONSHIP

The Tuesday sessions usually include coffee and treats. “Sometimes I call them our therapy sessions, because people talk about all the things going on in their lives,” Beverly says. “That’s an important aspect of getting together.”

She’s lived in Eagan since 1985, but she hasn’t always been a quilter. In 2009 her sister — who also made quilts — passed away and left behind all kinds of fabric, including a quilt top. Beverly didn’t know how to finish it, so she donated it, along with other fabric, to the quilting group.

When she returned with more donations, they surprised her with a quilt they’d made for her using the top she’d donated. This act of kindness brought Beverly to tears, she says, and she decided to join the quilting group — and the seniors group. The rest is history.

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Last Updated: February 13, 2025

A few decades ago, Eagan’s undeveloped land offered new opportunities for area businesses. But today, with the community almost fully built out, Eagan focuses on redevelopment. And 2024 was a big year for redevelopment. Plans came into focus, including those for the former Thomson Reuters, Delta Dental, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Delta Airlines campuses.

For current redevelopment progress reports on the Thomson Reuters campus, visit Ryan Companies' website.

THOMSON REUTERS CAMPUS REDEVELOPMENT

While keeping its manufacturing plant adjacent to Wescott Road, Thomson Reuters has moved to a new headquarters facility in Eagan. Meanwhile, Ryan Companies plans to redevelop 179 acres of the former corporate campus. Work could begin this year.

Ryan Companies’ site plan includes industrial and residential development, as well as green spaces. The developer worked with the City — and gathered public input — to reach this balance of economic development and sustainability.

“As a city,” Community Development Director Jill Hutmacher says, “we are committed to cultivating a dynamic, thriving business environment that evolves with industry trends. We also want to create new opportunities for economic growth and long-term success.”

The planning process included a review to evaluate potential environmental impacts and propose mitigation strategies. During open houses and through public comments, the City and Ryan Companies heard resident concerns about losing green space and trees. Initial plans were changed to include new trails, conservation areas to preserve existing trees and a wetland, and an expansion of Wescott Station Park.

“Ryan Companies’ purchase of the Thomson Reuters campus and their redevelopment plan solidify the historic balance this site has always had in our community,” Mayor Mike Maguire says. “The inclusion of light industrial components ensures it will remain a vital part of Eagan’s property tax base, while thoughtfully preserving the natural features and character that make the surrounding neighborhoods so desirable.”

FORMER DELTA AIRLINES SITE WILL BECOME HOUSING

The Dakota County Community Development Agency (CDA) bought the former Delta Airlines site. This property at 1500 Towerview Rd. comprises nearly 39 acres — and a 328,765-square-foot building that hasn’t been occupied in two years.

The CDA has been a strong City partner for many years on affordable senior and workforce housing projects. The CDA owns and manages five affordable senior housing buildings and five workforce family townhome developments in Eagan.

The site is part of the Northwest Central Commons Small Area Plan, approved by the City Council in 2024 after extensive public engagement. The CDA plans to develop the site consistent with the plan’s goals, including sustainability improvements, preservation of existing landscape buffers, and a variety of housing types closely connected to Eagan Central Park and nearby commercial areas.

The CDA may propose developing part of the site with CDA-owned housing, similar to existing CDA senior and workforce housing in Eagan. The agency will sell the remaining land for private, market-rate development.

FORMER BCBS CAMPUS

After Blue Cross Blue Shield relocated and consolidated within Eagan, its former call center at 1750 Yankee Doodle Rd. was left open. Solventum, a new healthcare company and global 3M spin-off, plans to relocate its Minnesota workforce from Maplewood to this property. The site will see 600 to 800 employees daily, and Solventum will provide over 1,000 high-wage jobs in Eagan.

“Solventum’s decision to relocate to Eagan is a testament to the strength and appeal of our city,” Maguire says. “We are committed to supporting their growth and ensuring that Eagan continues to be a vibrant location for businesses and employees alike.”

The City expects to receive a development application for the former BCBS headquarters site in 2025.

FORMER DELTA DENTAL BUILDING

The former Delta Dental building located at 3560 Blue Cross Rd. will be repurposed as a middle and high school for Great Oaks Academy Charter School. 

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Last Updated: March 04, 2026

“What can each of us do to ensure Eagan is an inclusive community where everyone thrives?”

That’s the question that the City of Eagan is inviting community members to explore with us in the year ahead.

Around the dinner table, at after school clubs, on bleachers and in break rooms — people are already sharing their unique joys, hopes, fears, and frustrations. By coming together to have these conversations as a community, we can work together to identify the small, specific actions we can each take to build an inclusive community where race is not a factor in anyone’s ability to thrive. 

With the help of skilled facilitators from the Finding Human Institute, the City will participate in the discussion alongside residents and community members. 

INTIMATE GATHERINGS OR ONE BIG PARTY! HOW DO YOU LIKE TO GET TOGETHER?

These conversations aim to bring residents together in comfortable settings to exchange ideas. Some groups may choose to host small gatherings and invite their neighbors, colleagues, friends, or family. Others may prefer to show up and join a table at the Spring Summit in April, where they can meet and connect with new people. Anyone can contribute a few comments when they catch the community conversations booth at a coffee shop, Eagan Market Fest, or another city event. 

Regardless of format, we’ll start by discovering what it looks like when people thrive— what are we doing, where are we, and who are we with? From there, we want to understand better the barriers that stand in the way — what keeps us from thriving all the time? Finally, we’ll work together to determine actions that we can take to reduce those barriers and ensure Eagan is a place where everyone thrives.  

YOUNG VOICES SHAPE THE FUTURE

Eagan is the 11th largest city in Minnesota with just over 69,000 people. Nearly one in three people who call it home are people of color. Almost half of the children here are Black, Indigenous, Latino, or Asian.

This has long been a community where many people choose to remain or return after growing up here. To really be an inclusive community where everyone thrives, we need to ask students what that means for them. 

In January, the City will do just that. High school students from all three districts in Eagan will come together at a student summit to exchange information, share personal stories and experiences, honestly express perspectives, clarify viewpoints, and develop solutions to common concerns. Through dialogue, participants will grow in understanding and may decide to act together with common goals.

TALK TO US!

Meaningful community conversations start with a desire to learn from others. Sharing our varied experiences and perspectives is the first step toward creating a community where everyone thrives. Together, we can commit to dismantling racism in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and city. 

Visit cityofeagan.com/rei to get involved by attending or hosting an event, inviting others to participate, volunteering at an event, or joining the steering team.

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Last Updated: November 27, 2024

When Fire Chief Hugo Searle joined the department in 2021, he began studying existing data to learn about trends in the department’s call volume, call locations, and other department activity.

“The data we had was good, but it was very limited,” Searle says. “And I know we collect a lot more data than that, because every single call we go on, every single inspection we do, every single public education event we do, every single training we participate in — we collect data on who’s there and what they did.”

So Searle set out to fully train his staff on data entry. “This way, we could start to get good data in, which would give us good data out,” he explained. Some information used today is pulled into the system automatically from GPS in fire vehicles and from emergency calls, while other data is entered by staff after each call.

DASHBOARDS MAKE DATA DIGESTIBLE

En route time is an important measurement for firefighters. That means as soon as a call comes in, the clock starts running until the responders are out the door and on their way to the incident. Ninety seconds is the goal for the Eagan Fire Department.  

In the past, if you’d asked an Eagan firefighter how long it took to be on their way, the answer would’ve been anecdotal. Today the department can provide a precise, data-backed response. 

“Back then, we knew we were responding quickly, but no one was timing the run to the truck,” Searle explains. “Now, we’re able to track our response times down to the second.”

Additionally the time is displayed on screens throughout the station, which rotate through visual data from all six station dashboards. Each was created by St. Cloud-based Emergency Service Perspectives, begun by Brian DesLauriers, a former volunteer firefighter.

“We used the data to make visual graphs before, but someone would have to create that graph each time,” says T.C. Schellinger, assistant fire chief and point person for data and dashboards at Fire Station 2. “We could always pull reports, but the dashboards make it visually appealing, easy to understand, and automatic.” 

USING DATA TO MAKE DECISIONS 

Using data is a new approach for fire departments, and Searle would like this approach applied throughout the state. “Eagan is a forward-thinking, best-practice, and modern data-driven fire department,” he says. “We’re making data-driven decisions daily with good data that supports what we think is the right thing to do.”
The dashboard displaying en route times was instrumental in reducing those times, but data can also be used to make strategic plans. 

As a result of using data to analyze call type and location, a specialized truck now operates out of Fire Station 2 to handle less-serious medical calls across the city. Named for the types of calls it responds to, the “alpha-bravo” truck is designed for specific types of calls that don’t need the heavy equipment on other fire vehicles. This keeps those larger, specialized vehicles available for more serious emergencies.

The use of this dedicated truck has been so successful that the department recently added a second alpha-bravo — this time at Fire Station 1.

WHAT DO THE DASHBOARDS SHOW?

The department has six dashboards today, and plans to create more. Eventually, the goal is to create some public-facing dashboards for the community.

• Incidents (what is called in, when, etc.)
• Key performance indicators (how are we doing?)
• Outreach (who are we educating? where and when? and on what topics?)
• Training (hours, assignments, types)
• Inspections (building, permit, alarm inspections, and more)
• Oversight (quality assurance, recorded reports, etc.)

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Last Updated: December 02, 2024

Since kicking off Eagan’s sustainability initiative in 2022, the City of Eagan, together with the Sustainable Eagan Advisory Commission (SEAC), has been busy with a myriad of efforts, including:

• Gathering community input
• Beginning work on our climate action plan 
• Replacing select City vehicles with electric vehicles 
• Purchasing a recycling truck for our parks 
• Incorporating clean energy into the new Eagan Art House 
• Including sustainability features in the Eagan Community Center renovation 
• Starting a reusable bag program at Eagan Market Fest
• Successfully completing the first year of the Sustainable Eagan Academy and planning year two

SUSTAINABLE EAGAN ACADEMY

Open to all community members of high school age and older, the Sustainable Eagan Academy began last year when the SEAC first conceived of the program. 

Commission member Sara Patrick helped spearhead the effort and ensured high school students would play a part. Besides attending, student speakers will address each of this year’s sessions. 

“Today’s youth have a vested interest in a sustainable future,” Patrick says. “Adding these voices to the sessions enhances their value, provides an opportunity to bring perse perspectives to the discussion, and leverages the strength of our community.” 

Besides high schoolers, attendees come from all age groups and backgrounds, says Gillian Catano, Eagan’s sustainability coordinator. “The Sustainable Eagan Academy is an excellent way for all community members to deepen their understanding of sustainability issues and to help impact the local environment,” she says. “We really value collaboration with residents and stakeholders.” 

ATTEND 2025 SUSTAINABLE EAGAN ACADEMY SESSIONS 

The academy’s free monthly sessions are 60–90 minutes on select Thursdays at 7 p.m. from January through May. No registration is needed — just come ready to learn and engage. 

• Jan. 30: Waste Reduction & Recycling 101 
• Feb. 27: Electric Vehicles 
• March 20: Food Waste 
• April 24: Tree & Plant Preservation 
• May 29: Solar Energy 

For locations and more details, visit cityofeagan.com/sustainableeaganacademy.

MAKING PROGRESS ON CLIMATE ACTION PLAN 

To address changing environmental conditions, a group of Eagan residents, City staff, partner agencies, and sustainability experts have been putting a great deal of time into creating Eagan’s climate action plan. 

During their first meeting in August, participants learned climate action goals, plus the steps to reach a final plan. 

“I joined the planning team because it’s an exciting opportunity to shape Eagan’s future,” says community member Sigrid Lindholm. “It’s important to engage in this work with our neighbors, residents, and city employees to arrive at a plan that’s equitable, actionable, and sustainable.” 

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) is one participating partner agency. “Collaboration is essential to reaching meaningful sustainability goals,” says CEO Luther Wynder. “By sharing insights on sustainable transportation, MVTA is proud to be part of a shared journey that aligns with our commitment to a sustainable, vibrant community for generations to come.” 

Catano says it’s energizing to have a collaborative group focused on Eagan’s sustainable future. “We’ve done a lot to prepare for this part of the work, and seeing the group collaborate and engage on the big questions has been so rewarding.” 

STAY INFORMED

The draft plan will be available for public comment in February. Visit cityofeagan.com/climate to stay up to date. For more news on sustainability, join our email list at cityofeagan.com/subscribe.

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Last Updated: November 27, 2024