Planning commission recommends subdivision, master-plan amendment for former Opus campus

The Minnetonka Planning Commission unanimously recommended that the City Council approve a master development plan amendment and preliminary/final plats for the former Opus office campus at 10350 and 10380 Bren Road West.

Planner Susan Thomas said the roughly 13-acre site currently contains two office buildings that were built in 1998 (southerly) and 2007 (northerly). The owner, HQ LLC, seeks to divide the property into two lots so it can market and potentially sell one of the buildings. "This amendment essentially allows for there to only be one building on the property, removal of that northerly building," Thomas said, and emphasized that the amendment does not authorize a new land use or new construction on the northerly lot: any future buyer proposing construction would have to return to the planning commission and the council.

Susan Thomas summarized neighborhood outreach: the owner convened a meeting attended by about a dozen nearby residents. Attendees asked chiefly about possible future uses (many said they would prefer commercial or retail rather than more residential) and about demolition timing and off-site impacts. Applicant Jim Montalbano of Founders Properties said the subdivision is intended to facilitate a potential sale of the 10350 building and thanked staff for their assistance. Project team member Pat Rumsa described demolition and mitigation: excavator/high-reach equipment over about a two-month demolition window, no planned trail or road closures, silt fencing and erosion-control measures, and on-site crushing and recycling of concrete and other materials. Rumsa said mass demolition would be followed by restoration of exposed areas with topsoil and seed until redevelopment occurs.

Commissioners asked about allowable future uses under the city's comprehensive guide plan; staff said the Opus area is guided for mixed use, so residential, office or commercial uses could be entertained and that the city is updating an Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the park. Commissioners praised the applicant's neighbor outreach and the recycling plan; several members said they were sad to see a building come down but understood market reasons.

Commissioner Johnson moved approval of the master development plan amendment; Commissioner Sher seconded. The commission voted unanimously to recommend the ordinance amendment and then unanimously approved a separate motion recommending that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the preliminary and final plats. The commission's recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council for action, scheduled for March 23, 2026.