Work on Windsor Plaza progressing

The fifth floor of Windsor Plaza offers a unique view of Eden Prairie. But, the five-story, mixed use development itself offers a unique vision for the city’s future, which is based on redevelopment and building up.

Just over a year ago, the corner of Flying Cloud Drive and Singletree Lane was a collection of three buildings that housed a more than 10 businesses. Over the course of that time, the 4.4-acre site has been transformed into one building that includes 100,000 square feet of office, 20,000 square feet of retail and space for two restaurants to anchor both sides of the site.

Charles Smoot, Solomon Real Estate’s vice president for construction, gave a tour of the site. To enter the building, you first trod across a parking ramp, almost complete with more than 600 parking spaces. Inside is what will be the main lobby. On the first floor of Windsor Plaza will be retail shops that include Aurora Jewelers, Jason’s Deli, Massage Envy and Hot Mama. Head up to the second floor and you’ll see office space which is partially filled. The next three floors will be the main office tenant, Virtual Radiologic (see sidebar). Work on the exterior parts of the building is expected to be finished up by the end of December, but they’ll be continually working on the interiors of the site through March or April.

According to Solomon Real Estate Principal Jay Scott, when it comes to filling retail space, they are seeing the effects of the economy. Though Kona Grille has been secured as one of the anchor restaurants, the second spot remains unfilled.

“We’re disappointed we lost Stanford’s. That was a blow because of the economy. They just cut back expansion just before we signed that deal,” said Scott, speaking about one of the possible restaurant tenants.

But, for the most part Windsor Plaza will be filling up next year. There are just two retail spaces left, a little bit of office and that second restaurant.

“Overall, I mean we’re happy with it,” Scott said.

Scott estimated that office tenants could be moving in by February, with retail moving in later in the spring. He hopes to have a grand opening in early summer 2009.

 

 

Windsor Plaza: Work on Windsor Plaza should wrap up by the end of December. The building, just off of Flying Cloud Drive across from Eden Prairie Center, will house offices on the upper levels, retail and restaurant space on the first floor.

 

 

 

Setting up shop in new development

The Eden Prairie News checked in with two tenants of the development.

Virtual Radiologic

The upper three floors of Windsor Plaza will be filled with Virtual Radiologic. The following responses from Virtual Radiologic spokesperson Mollie O’Brien were received by e-mail.

Q. Explain a little bit about the service Virtual Radiologic provides.

Founded in 2001, Virtual Radiologic improves the lives of patients and radiologists by providing market-leading teleradiology services. Patient diagnostic images, such as x-rays, CT scans or MRIs, are encrypted and transmitted securely at high speed over the Internet from medical facilities to our radiologists, who interpret, or read, the images and quickly deliver high-quality reports back to the medical facilities. Using proprietary workflow technology, our American Board of Radiology-certified physicians will perform over two million read interpretations this year. More than 975 medical facilities nationwide rely on us to deliver quality read interpretations for emergent and non-emergent needs – day and night, 365 days a year. We improve patient care by allowing radiologists to provide services without actually having to be at the location of the patient, and no matter what the time of day, patients have access to radiologists who have the right specialized proficiency in areas such as pediatrics, cardiac angiography or neuroradiology.  The demand for imaging is growing faster than the growth of radiologists, and we help improve the work/life balance of the employees of the radiology groups we serve by providing service days and nights, weekends and holidays.

Q. What made Windsor Plaza a good fit for the company’s new headquarters?

We are excited to be part of the new development in Eden Prairie. The location is great – very central and not too far from our current headquarters so it won’t be a difficult transition for our employees in terms of their commute. We are out of space at our headquarters and even had to secure a second facility to handle our current operations. With Windsor Plaza, we can now house all of our employees in one facility.

Q. How many employees will be working with your company at Windsor Plaza?

Approximately 230. 

Q. What will be some of the advantages to the new location? What amenities will the new office space include?

We are looking forward to being so close to the wealth of businesses located in Eden Prairie. There will be great restaurants and retail services located in the building itself, which will be extremely convenient especially as we head into the cold winter months. The prominent location of Windsor Plaza will allow us to extend our branding presence and become more integrated with the community. We worked closely with the contractors to build out the space to meet the specifications of our unique operations, and we are excited for the move.

Q. When will you move in? The first quarter of 2009.

Hot Mama

The Eden Prairie News spoke with Mike Tamte about the opening of Hot Mama. Hot Mama has four other stores in the Twin Cities. According to its Web site, the first store opened in 2004, at 50th and France. “The concept was developed by Michael and Megan Tamte soon after the birth of their first-born, Allison, in 1997. Recognizing and appreciating the change parenthood brought on her life, Megan sought to build a store that focused entirely on serving moms and moms-to-be. Frustrated that most boutiques catered to singles and those in their early 20s, she targeted the missing gap – her generation – a group in their late 20s to mid-40s who had or were having children.”

Q. What made you guys decide to set up a location in Windsor Plaza?

“Evidence shows that our target market lives in Eden Prairie and around Eden Prairie.”

Q. Tell me a little bit about what your store specializes in.

“We’re contemporary women’s appararel. We target moms, 25- to 50-year-olds, who like boutique fashions. We call it fashion forward clothing.”

Q. What do you see as the advantage of the new location?

"One thing we realized is that the Eden Prairie customer drives to that area. But we wanted to be an alternative from being trapped in a mall."