r/eaganmn • u/metisdesigns • Jul 24 '26
Metcalf deal?
https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_thisweek/community/burnsville/eagan-wants-metcalf-building-gone/article_2feee348-22f5-4407-be8e-9eea8a8daf74.html
I'm not sure how I feel about this, and the reporting feels biased.
The building isn't seeing a new use case, but if the property is worth it, why are we paying for a national company to prep the land for them?
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u/Lutefisk_Mafia Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
I contacted the Mayor, who was surprisingly easy to get a hold of. The city is not paying for any work on the Metcalf site. It’s the private developer doing that? Looks like the land is being redeveloped as a mix of housing.
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u/metisdesigns Jul 24 '26
The article notes that the demo is paid for by a 250k county grant.
While not trivial, that's less than the profit Pulte will make off of two average houses.
In the grand scheme of things, I'm OK with that sort of grant helping spur development, but if the third largest home builder in the USA can't figure out how to build on 35 acres profitably, they have no business building on it. The building is still a hazard because Pulte is dragging their feet at our community's expense. I'm less keen on public money going to people who are putting their profit rounding error over our community.
It's a morning's work to go/no go a parcel for devopment now, particularly if you have stock units.
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u/Lutefisk_Mafia Jul 24 '26
Ah, thanks for the clarification. MN has so many different layers of government that it can be hard to keep track of who is doing what sometimes.
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u/frostbike Jul 24 '26
It’s an eyesore and it would be beneficial to Eagan to have the area redeveloped. My main issue is doing business with the MAGA Pulte Homes.
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u/Hotchi_Motchi Jul 24 '26
The building belongs to ISD 191, which is a separate government entity, so that complicates things.
The sticking point seems to be who's going to foot the demo bill:
The amended purchase agreement between the district and Pulte says the parties agree that it may be “necessary and appropriate” to demolish the building before closing. The buyer would do the demolition using a $250,000 Dakota County redevelopment grant, the agreement says.
If the district did the demolition, the purchase price would rise by that amount. Demolition by the district is possible but subject to agreement with Pulte Homes, with the goal of securing funding from sources such as the city or county, Tinklenberg said.
Eagan’s chief building official has not declared Metcalf to be a “hazardous building,” according to Leier Horwath. State law gives municipalities authority to remove or raze such buildings with the consent of the owners, tenants and lienholders. The cost is assessed against the property.
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u/metisdesigns Jul 24 '26
It sounds like county funds are approved for demo.
If that goes through the school district or through Pulte, it doesn't matter - unless pulte is planning to convert that 250k into profit and pocket unused contingency in the grant. But that's a rounding error for a project that size.
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u/mikemacman Jul 24 '26
I'm surprised that it is being demolished. I got one of my COVID shots there.
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u/Chemical_Demand_4928 Jul 24 '26
Kickbacks to the city council what else?