Hopkins Frowns on Proposed 'Ecostation'

planners worry that a proposed $75 million apartment and retail development on the Minnetonka side of Shady Oak Road and Excelsior doesn’t match the city’s plans.

“I would say it’s a pretty poor fit for our vision for that station area,” said Kersten Elverum, Hopkins’ director of economic development and planning.

Hopkins and Minnetonka haven’t formally launched joint planning for Shady Oak and Excelsior, the site of a planned light-rail station and . But the inclusion of a big-box retailer, a vague plan on housing types and uncertain parking specifications in the proposed “Ecostation” plan suggest the project isn’t what Hopkins wants, Elverum said.

“Overall, their concept is premature,” she said.

Minnetonka developer Richard Anderson’s plan proposes three four-story apartment buildings totaling 350,000 square feet. The buildings would have market-rate rents and reduced-rate rents for families that make $30,000 or less.

It would also include a 70,000-square-foot grocery store—identified in a Star Tribune article as a Cub Foods—and smaller retail stores and restaurants. 

In all, there would be about 95,000 square-feet of retail space, 5,000 square-feet of restaurant space and 350 units of affordable housing,

Change is planned for the area whatever happens with the Ecostation. In addition to the anticipated light-rail station, the county is planning to widen Shady Oak Road—which will eliminate vital parking and, , cause them to lose customers. 

Yet Hopkins wants to ensure the development that does happen is compatible with other businesses in the city—particularly the downtown area just a few blocks away. Virtually every resident cites Hopkins’ Mainstreet as one of the community’s premier assets and crucial to maintaining its small-town feel even as Hopkins is surrounded by other suburbs.

The city aims to capitalize on this by turning the light-rail station at Eighth Avenue and Excelsior into a destination “kiss and ride”—or stop with limited parking—featuring a boulevard enticing visitors into the downtown.

Consequently, any retail near the Shady Oak station should be limited to serving light-rail commuters and avoid drawing shoppers away from downtown businesses, Elverum said.

At the same time, the city wants to preserve jobs and minimize parking space as much as possible, she said. And , they criticized the amount of asphalt in the plan and questioned whether it would actually utilize light rail.

Hopkins hasn’t yet firmed up details for what it does want. Office space would be compatible, Elverum said. Certain types of residential may make sense. There could even be light industrial to preserve jobs.

Minnetonka has so far had the lead on key aspects of planning for the Shady Oak area, such as infrastructure and utilities. Approval of the Ecostation project is under Minnetonka’s purview because it’s on that side of the border.

However, joint planning for the light-rail station should formally begin in 2012, following the completion of a Hennepin County report that will serve as a foundation for the two city’s visions coming together, Elverum said.

The two communities also have a joint meeting planned for Nov. 1 to discuss the Shady Oak expansion. The Ecostation isn’t on the agenda, but it could come up.

“I’m optimistic we’re going to come to a joint vision on Shady Oak,” she said.