Politics & Government

Southwest LRT Planners Eyeing Minnetonka Site for Maintenance Facility

Many communities along the line worry about the loss of tax base and redevelopment potential should the site move in.

A group of Minnetonka properties are now among the options for a Southwest Light Rail Transit operation and maintenance facility that will service trains along the corridor.

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. They’ve now identified 18 sites, including a site made up of five parcels on K-Tel Drive.

Find out what's happening in Minnetonkawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

(Click on the PDFs to the right to see a map of the site and a list of all 18 proposed sites.)

Communities along the line are not exactly welcoming the proposed facility. Although Hopkins officials have said they’d be willing to accept it on a site that’s currently a landfill, proposals at other sites along the line have prompted worries about the loss of tax base and redevelopment potential.

Find out what's happening in Minnetonkawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Southwest LRT design team will next narrow the possibilities to five or six sites and seek input from project committees in late April and early May. Public open houses will take place in May in the cities where the sites are.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here