Checking in on building along the Green Line Extension

It seems to be a truism that major infrastructure projects often involve major complications. That has certainly been the case with the most expensive public works project in Minnesota history. Despite slowdowns, the 14.5-mile Green LineExtension is progressing toward its 2027 opening date.

The project has been a catalyst for commercial and residential development along the line, as the four suburban cities on the route continue to consider projects. As expected, much of the development, and redevelopment, has taken place near each of the line's 16 stations.

Eden Prairie

In Eden Prairie, where the line ends, construction work on the Green Line Extension is nearly finished, with the bulk of heavy construction completed, according to Julie Klima, community development director.

The revamp of the Southwest Station bus terminal combines LRT with the existing SouthWest Transit bus service and expanded park-and-ride facility, making the station a key hub for passengers going to and from downtown Minneapolis. Shops and restaurants are located around the station. The surrounding area includes the 200-acre Purgatory Creek conservation area with a seven-acre park and walking trails.

Eden Prairie's first transit-oriented development (TOD) complex is Elevate at Southwest Station, at 12900 Technology Drive, developed in 2019. It has 13,000 square feet of commercial space and 222 residential units above. Its location near the light rail, retail (Shops at Southwest Station), and Purgatory Creek Park “were determining factors in the number of apartments included in this project,” according to the developers.

The Golden Triangle Station area is a major regional employment center. Bound by Highway 169 on the east, Highway 212 on the west and Interstate 494 on the south, the area has nearly 10 million square feet of industrial and office space. Greco Properties' 425-unit The Fox and the Grouse apartment complex is being built on a 15-acre site in the Triangle; phase one is scheduled to open next January.

Adjacent to the Gold Triangle Station, Fargo-based life sciences company Aldevron has received city approvals to upgrade and expand its facilities. The company expects to employ about 500 workers at the location.

The planned City West Station is adjacent to the corporate campus of Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, and connected to a park-and-ride lot; three office buildings are already in place, developed between 2009 and 2012. More than 6,500 employees will work on the campus when it is complete.

Klima said that, through its Aspire 2040 comprehensive plan, the city is using policies to support reinvestment and redevelopment along the line, “to maximize regional investment and provide access to more housing and employment along the line,” especially in the Golden Triangle and Town Center areas, where there are a significant number of jobs close to the LRT corridor.

Minnetonka

The centerpiece of Minnetonka's TOD efforts is the Opus II business development, a one-square-mile area surrounding the new LRT station at the northwest corner of Highways 169 and 62. Developed as a business park back in the 1970s, it's been a regional employment hub, with more than 12,000 jobs in industries including health care, technology and real estate; it includes the corporate headquarters of the Opus Group, a family of commercial real estate development, construction and design companies. It has also evolved into a major residential area with the development completed or planned of more than 2,100 rental units.

Minnetonka has had 1,921 units of new housing added along the line, either completed or nearing completion. Nearly 700 of those are designated as affordable, said Community Development Director Julie Wischnack. Construction on a 269-unit apartment complex planned by Charleston, South Carolina-based Greystar is expected to begin soon.

The city's earliest TOD project, the 322-unit RiZE at Opus Park, was completed in 2017 in anticipation of the line extension. “We've been planning various supportive infrastructure projects since the line was conceived,” Wischnack said. The city already had six miles of trails in the Opus area that were completed back in the 1970s.

The city is working on its public space strategy for the Opus area, including identifying a specific location for a large public space and working on standards for plantings and way-finding signage, Wischnack said.

Rather than preparing environmental assessment worksheets on a project-by-project basis in Opus, “we decided to do one for the whole area so we can anticipate more holistically what things we'll need to do to prepare for development.”

Development along the LRT route includes a number of sustainability features “that clearly weren't fashionable in the 1970s,” including rooftop solar panels and water reuse, Wischnack said.

Hopkins

The Green Line Extension has been something of a boon for the city of Hopkins, which has several outdated, dormant industrial sites. “We're seeing market pressure move us from an industrial to a residential base,” said Kersten Elverum, the city's director of planning and development.

She cited the 17-acre development at 325 Blake Road, where a large, now-obsolete, cold storage facility operated for decades. The city elected Minneapolis-based Alatus as the developer for the multi-building project, adjacent to Minnehaha Creek. The completed project will feature five buildings, more than 800 housing units, and an equivalent amount of green space.

The site's location adjacent to the creek, the Cedar Lake Regional Trail, and a future Green Line stop makes it prime real estate for multifamily and mixed-use real estate. The city of Hopkins has made infrastructure improvements that will provide better access to metro area employment hubs and the city’s downtown area, she said.

The first phase of the development, the 116-unit Chorus Apartments, has been completed and is fully occupied, according to developer Alatus.

Chorus Apartments (Building A) of the 325 Blake Road development project is a five-story, 116-unit low-income housing tax credit development with 75 underground parking stalls. It opened last December.

Adjacent to the Blake Road Station, The Hallon is the result of redevelopment of 6.4 acres of land located in the northwest quadrant of Excelsior Boulevard and Blake Road into a three phase, mixed-use residential and commercial development. Trilogy Real Estate Group's The Hallon I is now open and The Hallon II is nearing completion. Phase II is a seven-story, commercial and residential mixed-use multiple unit apartment building. The building will include 250 residential units, 10,000 square feet of commercial space and 339 enclosed parking spaces.

Fargo-based developer Enclave recently broke ground on Ovation, a new mixed-use community in downtown Hopkins. Expected to be complete this fall, the project includes 150 apartment units and over 13,000 square feet of commercial space fronting Mainstreet.

Affordable housing has been a major focus in Hopkins' LRT planning. Downtown, the nonprofit Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative is building Vista 44, with 50 apartment units for families making under $30,000 a year.

The city has been having “early conversations” about more development sites, including the LRT station it shares with Minnetonka. One is excess property acquired by the Met Council within the former Hopkins Tech Center site. “We're working on an RFP for that property that hopefully will be going out later this year,” Elverum said.

While the recent increases in interest rates and construction costs have caused developers to put a number of potential projects on hold, “we're still talking to a number of developers who are trying to find sites in Hopkins,” Elverum said.

St. Louis Park

The city's economic development authority owns property immediately to the north of the Belt Line station where Minneapolis-based Sherman Associates plans to develop Beltline Station: three apartment buildings, one with 20,000 square feet of commercial space for a grocery store anchor, and a parking ramp to include a light rail park-and-ride for commuters. The development will include almost 400 units of market-rate and affordable housing, said the city's development director, Jennifer Monson.

Environmental cleanup has begun on the former industrial site. Construction is slated to begin in September, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2026, according to Will Anderson, Sherman's director of development.

As in other transit-adjacent locales, Monson said the light rail line has been a catalyst for the replacement of some industrial sites which have outlived their usefulness. “Without light rail, a lot of it would have remained what it was for a very long time.”

One significant investment by an existing property owner has been Nordic Ware's two additions to its headquarters building, just west of the Beltline Station, on the frontage road south of County Road 25/Highway 7.

One major project that has been delayed, then scrubbed due to COVID-19 and economic conditions was slated for the former Nash Frame factory site at 3565 Wooddale Ave. S. Saturday Properties’ proposed OlyHi development would have included 315 affordable units and about 12,000 square feet of commercial space, with underground parking and a large public plaza facing the LRT station. “It was pretty much ready to be built and in the final stages of approval. But every interest rate hike made it harder and harder to close the [financing] gap,” Monson said. “Without that, it would be under construction.”

Also, the Zelia on Seven apartment building, with 217 affordable units, was planned to include a second phase, but that deal fell apart due to COVID-related delays, Monson said. The city continues to communicate with potential developers for those locations.

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