Developer seeks more retail at Lockheed Martin site
by Jessica Harper
Thisweek Newspapers
CSM Equities, owner of the former Lockheed Martin site in Eagan, has tossed its plan to develop a multi-story retail complex on 41 acres of the Lockeed property to develop additional retail on the site.
Last year, the Minneapolis developer asked the city of Eagan to submit a comprehensive guide plan amendment to the Metropolitan Council that would redesignate 41.2 acres of the 51-acre “research and development” zoned site as “retail commercial.”
Now, CMS Equities, an affiliate of CSM Corp, is looking to redevelop 47 acres.
The plans call for several freestanding restaurants and would keep 6.2 acres as office space.
The site is viewed as being a prime location — the intersection of Pilot Knob and Yankee Doodle roads, Eagan’s busiest intersection — and is near its major retail centers, Promenade and Town Centre.
The Eagan City Council unaminmously agreed to send the latest request to the Met Council for evaluation. The developer’s previous plan was already sent to the Met Council.
If approved by the Met Council, the City Council could vote to approve rezoning later this spring, City Administrator Tom Hedges said.
The plan was denied by the Eagan Planning Commission on Jan. 24 in a 3-3 vote.
The developer purchased the property in April and closed on the sale in June, but Lockheed Martin will continue to occupy the space under a lease agreement until it officially closes its Eagan operation in the spring of 2013.
The company announced last November it would close its Eagan facility by 2013, resulting in about 350 layoffs and 650 job transfers to other Lockheed Martin facilities.
CSM’s redevelopment plans are still in its infancy, and will need approval from the City Council as well before a development could move forward.
A recent study presented to the council has shown that Eagan could support additional retail.
Jessica Harper is at jessica.harper@ecm-inc.com.
