The heartbeat of Eden Prairie's service infrastructure, the City Center, is slated for an ambitious remodeling project starting this spring, following the City Council's decision to approve construction bids on Jan. 21. According to a statement obtained by Eden Prairie's official news release, the Police Department will find a new home on the building's west side, and the Garden Room, along with public meeting rooms and City offices, will ascend from the lower depths to the main level.
The time is ripe, and City Manager Rick Getschow thinks so too with more than a decade of planning behind them, he's quoted expressing his enthusiasm about finally launching "this important project". Costing an estimated $26.5 million, funded through general obligation bonds, the project will encompass 112,000 square feet across two levels—the empty space currently housing city facilities and the Police Department on the east side of the building, after the upgrade, will be up for grabs to lease.
Police Chief Matt Sackett provided insight into the practical necessities driving the redevelopment, noting the department had expanded beyond the confines of their 30-year-old basement dwelling; as chronicled by Eden Prairie, he asserted, "We're literally bursting at the seams". The planned facelift will arm the department with state-of-the-art public safety assets and the room they need to house their developing staff and fleet under a protective indoor roof.
Community members keen on tracking the progress can mark their calendars for March or April, the expected groundbreaking months, with a completion target in summer 2026; to follow the project's evolution, visits to edenprairie.org/PDRemodel, are it's where details will be posted, and updates will be regularly dispensed to keep the public in the loop.
