Council accepts bids for city center police and city office remodel; construction budget ~ $26.7M

The Eden Prairie City Council on Jan. 21 approved contracts and accepted bids for a City Center renovation that reconfigures space for the police department, relocates city offices to the main level, and adds an indoor secured garage for police squads.

Architects and the construction manager presented the project scope, bid results and schedule. The renovation will reassign roughly 85,000 square feet to police functions (about 35,000 square feet of which is the indoor garage), relocate city offices and meeting spaces to the main floor, add a reinforced tornado/storm shelter, and improve wayfinding and staff amenities. The bid package produced competitive results: construction bids totaled about $21 million, the team recommended a 7% construction contingency, and combined with soft costs and owner expenses the total project budget presented was approximately $26.75 million. The presentation showed a small positive contingency balance of about $35,685 in the funding package presented to council.

Kraus‑Anderson project manager Dan Kellberg said bids were opened Dec. 18, 2024; 108 individual bid submissions across 26 work scopes produced an average of about four bids per work scope. The project team recommended awarding 25 scopes and rebidding one scope to seek additional value. Schedule milestones presented show construction starting in late March/early April 2025 with completion in May 2026 and police move‑in targeted for summer 2026.

Key functional changes: the lower level will provide 53 secure squad stalls (20 with EV chargers planned) plus storage and vehicle processing space, while the main level will house a dedicated secure police public entrance, interview rooms, offices, a shared fitness area and divisible community meeting rooms. The design team noted the potential to lease renovated lower‑level space in the future and that tenant improvements would be handled as part of a lease negotiation if a lessee is identified.

Police leadership described operational benefits: the chief told the council the project addresses chronic space shortages (the department has grown since 1994), provides secure indoor parking to protect squad vehicles and equipment from snow and cold, improves ingress/egress for emergency response, increases storage for specialized equipment (drones, forensics) and adds facilities to support wellness and recruiting. The chief said the design is intended to meet operational needs for the next two decades.

Vote and next steps: Council adopted the resolution accepting bids and awarding contracts for the Police Department and City Office Module projects (voice vote, unanimous). Staff and the construction manager will execute contracts, begin material procurement and proceed with permitting and site mobilization per the presented schedule.

Ending: Council members praised the project as an investment in public safety and cited improved response logistics and personnel wellness as reasons to proceed with the recommended awards.