One Minnetonka Site Shortlisted for Southwest LRT Maintenance Facility

Minnetonka has just one site on a short list of possible locations for a Southwest Light Rail Transit operation and maintenance facility that will service trains along the corridor, according to a list the Metropolitan Council released Thursday.

The project’s draft environmental impact statement identified just six possible sites where the facility could be located—five sites in Eden Prairie and one in Minneapolis. However, planners decided that the start of preliminary engineering was a good time to take a look at more sites and they eventually identified 18 sites.

The latest list narrows the candidates to nine sites. Those sites are:

• City Garage West: Technology Drive and Wallace Road in Eden Prairie
• City Garage East: 15150 Technology Drive in Eden Prairie
• Mitchell East: Technology Drive and Mitchell Road in Eden Prairie
• Shady Oak/West 70th Street: Shady Oak Road and Flying Cloud Drive in Eden Prairie
• K-Tel: Shady Oak Road and Ke-Tel Drive in Minnetonka
• K-Tel East: Fifth Street South and 15th Avenue South in Hopkins
• 11th Avenue West: Fifth Street South and 11th Avenue South in Hopkins
• Excelsior West: 8098 Excelsior Boulevard in Hopkins
• Excelsior East: Excelsior Boulevard and Powell Road at the border of Hopkins and St. Louis Park

The maintenance facility is the site where light rail vehicles will be cleaned, stored and undergo light maintenance. It will have 180 operator and maintenance jobs. Officials from cities along the line worry it could eliminate redevelopment opportunities and take a property off the city’s tax rolls.

The Met Council has scheduled meetings to solicit feedback on the shortlisted sites. They will take place from:

• 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 13 at the Eden Prairie City Center Heritage Rooms (8080 Mitchell Road)
• 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 15 at the Southwest Project Office (6465 Wayzata Blvd, Ste. 500, St. Louis Park)
• 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 22 in the Hopkins Center for the Arts’ Jaycees Studio (1111 Mainstreet, Hopkins)

The Metropolitan Council will use comments gathered at the meetings to choose the preferred site later this year.

It will select the preferred site based on the following “operational evaluation criteria”:

• Effective site configuration
• Close proximity to the mainline
• Good connection to the mainline
• Access for the operations staff

It will also be evaluating locations based on the following site characteristics:

• Adjacent land-use compatibility
• Transit Oriented Development/mixed use/economic development considerations
• Zoning
• Site and facilities cost: facilities, grading, utilities, soils
• Real estate acquisition: cost, complexity, legalities
• Relocation cost: displaced occupants and uses
• Environmental impact: wetlands, hazardous materials
• Cultural resources: cultural, historical
• Stormwater management: drainage, treatment