Edina Looks to Citizens to Choose Use for Eden Avenue Public Works Building

The Edina City Council has commissioned a small citizen survey to find out what city residents want to be done with the former public works building at 5146 Eden Avenue.

A performing arts center was among the potential uses floated for the building at Tuesday’s council meeting, though members stressed that they wanted to be flexible to off-the-beaten-track options.

“There are things we know won’t go there,” council member Ann Swenson said. “A soccer dome won’t go there, a basketball court, there are things we can rule out.”

Designing a new use for the public works building is part of the city’s Grandview Plan, which includes a mix of commercial, retail and residential buildings, public amenities, revised traffic flow, increased pedestrian and bike paths and a handful of environmentally friendly projects.

Council member Joni Bennett pointed out that the building is one of Edina’s last pieces of public land without a designated use, and she used a number of metaphors to make the point that the project should be well considered before a use is chosen.

“Moving forward when you don’t know where you’re going or you don’t have a map can take a person into the path of oncoming traffic, it can take a person off a cliff, it can take a person out a window or off a roof,” she said. “I think it’s important to have a sense of where you’re going.”

The community survey will be used by a citizen advisory team to formulate a recommendation to the council by early January.

With reporting by Mike Wilkinson.