MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2008

Positive Cos. proposes Eagan, Minn. development

by Walter Kovacs
Minnesota

Positive Cos., a St. Paul-based development and construction firm, has shown the Eagan, Minn. city council a plan to build a five building, 41,520-square-foot, mixed-use complex on a 10-acre lot.

The city council will consider the plan, which will include roughly roughly 100 senior housing units, a medical office and four retail buildings. The site, at the southeast corner of Diffley Road and Blackhawk Road, currently has a single-family home and seven accessory buildings standing on it.

The concept currently calls for four retail buildings ranging in size from 3,600 to 15,000 square feet. The medical office, which could instead be used as a hotel in the concept, will be 9,250 square feet, and the senior citizen building will have approximately 100 units.

The Eagan city council has yet to rule on proposed zoning changes for the lot. Positive Cos .is currently planning on breaking ground for the development in the spring of 2009.

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Type: Retail, senior housing, medical office, hotel

Housing units: 80 to 120

Retail size: 41,520 square feet (five buildings)

Lot: 10 acres

Developer: Positive Companies

Details: St. Paul-based Positive Companies, a development and construction firm that specializes in smaller-scale retail projects, is floating a concept plan to build a six-building complex of retail, medical office and senior-citizen housing uses at Interstate 35E and Diffley Road in Eagan on a 10-acre lot containing a single-family home and several accessory buildings.

The parcel is strategic in that it's highly visible from the freeway as well as from Diffley and Blackhawk Roads. It's also across the highway from a new Kowalski's grocery store, which has helped to establish the I-35E/Diffley Road interchange as an emerging retail node.

The project is in its early stages: The Eagan City Council is to consider whether to amend the city's comprehensive plan changing the designation of the parcel from being guided for townhouses to guided for retail and high-density housing.

"We're looking to find someone who's interested in partnering with us on the senior housing element," said Jay Feider of Positive Cos. "There's definitely a need for it in Dakota County. This is one of the last freeway intersections in Eagan left to be developed."

The concept plan shows four retail buildings of 3,600 to 15,000 square feet each; a building designated for a medical office or hotel at 9,520 square feet; and a senior-citizen housing building of approximately 100 units. Entry to the area would be from Diffley Road, which could prove to be a stumbling block: Feider says Dakota County has not been receptive to altering the road, which is a county highway.

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