Hopkins Looks For Ways to Shield The Depot From Southwest LRT

Officials have begun examining how to best to protect Hopkins’ historic sites from Southwest Light Rail Transit construction.

The Southwest LRT’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) has already identified three nearby historic places in Hopkins that likely qualify for the National Register: Hopkins City Hall, Hopkins’ downtown and The Depot Coffee House.

Light rail likely wouldn’t hurt either of the first two sites, said Kersten Elverum, the city’s director of economic development and planning. But the new route is supposed to run right by The Depot—a former Minneapolis & St. Louis train depot built in 1903—as the line rises to cross over Excelsior.

The line will likely need to start climbing near The Depot. Planners don’t yet know the exact impact on The Depot, but Chris Weyer, the Southwest LRT project director, said such a bridge structure would likely affect the view of the site.

Three Rivers Park District, which is a Depot partner and owns the adjacent regional trail, has begun looking at whether it could use some type of park setting to preserve the site, said Hopkins City Engineer John Bradford.

“I don’t think any of this is a death blow to anything,” Bradford said. “It’s just issues like other issues along the line.”

Meanwhile, city officials have met with a historic consultant to investigate whether there could be any advantage to having local sites declared historic places. Such a designation could bring tax or marketing benefits, and the DEIS has already provided much of the background work, Elverum noted.

The issue is still in its early stages—"I think there are more questions than there are answers," Elverum said—and the city will continue these conversations into the future.