Minnesota Vikings close on Eagan site purchase
The Minnesota Vikings organization completed its purchase of the former Northwest Airlines headquarters in Eagan, putting the football team one step closer to relocating its headquarters and training facility from Eden Prairie.
The team has not disclosed how much it paid for the property, but a source familiar with the deal who asked not to be named to protect client relationships said the price was $18.6 million.
The Vikings bought the 185-acre site from Excelsior Group, a St. Louis Park-based investment company that had purchased it for $10.4 million in July from Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL).
“We continue to believe this 185-acre site offers many positive attributes, including space and flexibility, proximity to downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as to the airport, and an opportunity to transform a vacant piece of property for the benefit of the community and the region,” Vikings Owner and Chairman Zygi Wilf said in a prepared statement.
The team has several steps before it officially makes the move, including getting development and environmental approvals, along with any subsidies required to help pay for infrastructure to the area.
There's an adjacent nine-acre site that the Vikings have a deal to purchase from Eden Prairie-based Interstate Partners. That sale is on schedule to close in the next 30 days for an undisclosed price.
Most of the campus is vacant. The Vikings are expected to raze the two large former Northwest Airlines' office buildings on the site. In September, the Vikings announced plans to develop a 30-acre practice facility with three outdoor grass fields, a 150,000-square-foot indoor training facility and a 7,000- to 10,000-seat outdoor football stadium that could host high school football games.
A second phase of development would include 500 to 800 housing units and a hotel with 120 to 150 rooms and a 190,000- to 220,000-square-foot conference center that would become one of the East Metro's largest.
The Vikings haven't disclosed what the team plans to do with their current campus in Eden Prairie, called Winter Park, but it's possible the Wilf family, real estate developers by trade, will hang onto that site for future redevelopment.
Reported by: Bizjournals.com
The team has not disclosed how much it paid for the property, but a source familiar with the deal who asked not to be named to protect client relationships said the price was $18.6 million.
The Vikings bought the 185-acre site from Excelsior Group, a St. Louis Park-based investment company that had purchased it for $10.4 million in July from Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL).
“We continue to believe this 185-acre site offers many positive attributes, including space and flexibility, proximity to downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as to the airport, and an opportunity to transform a vacant piece of property for the benefit of the community and the region,” Vikings Owner and Chairman Zygi Wilf said in a prepared statement.
The team has several steps before it officially makes the move, including getting development and environmental approvals, along with any subsidies required to help pay for infrastructure to the area.
There's an adjacent nine-acre site that the Vikings have a deal to purchase from Eden Prairie-based Interstate Partners. That sale is on schedule to close in the next 30 days for an undisclosed price.
Most of the campus is vacant. The Vikings are expected to raze the two large former Northwest Airlines' office buildings on the site. In September, the Vikings announced plans to develop a 30-acre practice facility with three outdoor grass fields, a 150,000-square-foot indoor training facility and a 7,000- to 10,000-seat outdoor football stadium that could host high school football games.
A second phase of development would include 500 to 800 housing units and a hotel with 120 to 150 rooms and a 190,000- to 220,000-square-foot conference center that would become one of the East Metro's largest.
The Vikings haven't disclosed what the team plans to do with their current campus in Eden Prairie, called Winter Park, but it's possible the Wilf family, real estate developers by trade, will hang onto that site for future redevelopment.
Reported by: Bizjournals.com
