Your Town - South of the River
We had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Meet the Mayor summit this week! This is an annual event where local Mayor's gather to discuss what is happening in their town so we can better educate you as home owners and home buyers to know what is happening in your community.
The event featured 6 Mayors from Dakota county, specifically our "South of the River" communities. We even had a special guest and former Lakeville Mayor, State Senator Matt Little.
The whole event was both informative, and entertaining. However, one of the things that we really noticed and appreciated is that while each town has highlights of their own, the Mayor's of each city seem to really support each other and understand that each others growth and success is the best for all the communities as a whole.
Here are some of the top things we took from the Mayor's during their spotlights.
Lakeville - Doug Anderson
Elected 2014
#28 Best Place to Live in America according to Money Magazine
Estimated 80,000 pop by 2040
1600 acres of parks and open space with 100 miles of trails
Estimated of 450 new residential permits in 2018
City Website: https://lakevillemn.gov/
Rosemount - Bill Droste
Elected 2002
In the last 5 years they’ve had a total of 856 residential permits
$106K is the median household income
There are 59 acres of new parks to develop
Sustainability - With wind, co-generation plant and solar farms, there is enough electricity to power 60,000 homes in Dakota County
They are a Greenstep city
New elementary school to be built
New Recreational Center - city is currently working with contractors to create a space and hope to have plans complete in 4-5 months
City Website: https://ci.rosemount.mn.us/
Burnsville - Elizabeth Kautz
Elected 1994
In 2017 they put $6 million into street and utility improvements
They are built out as a city currently, however, they are willing to redevelop and to rezone to take advantage of space
Want to revamp the Burnsville mall and take advantage of the CR 42 corridor to build and modernize
Take pride in the diversity of the city, including their International Festival
City Website: http://www.ci.burnsville.mn.us/
Farmington - Todd Larson
Elected 2008
Survey completed by the city: residents described Farmington as friendly, welcoming, and safe. Additionally, they have strived to create a hometown feel and pull away from a "small" town feel.
4th safest city in MN
They have the open space to grow.
Have a Hy-Vee and Aldi coming soon
New childcare, auto center, dental office, daycare, and gymnastics have all opened in 2017 & 2018
City Website: http://www.ci.farmington.mn.us/
Apple Valley - Mary Hamann-Roland
Elected 1999
Most of their new multi-family housing that has opened in the last year or is close to completion is already at 100% leased.
There is over 400 acres of potential right now to be turned into living or business space.
Hope to revamp the Time Square in Downtown Apple Valley.
City Website: https://www.ci.apple-valley.mn.us/
Eagan - Mike Maguire
Elected 2007
There are 59,000 jobs in Eagan.
The daytime population is 80,000 people. This is from all the employment in the area. This has increased retail business in the city.
Costco coming soon to NE Eagan
Only 40 of the 200 acres of the new Vikings Lakes development has been developed.
It was recently announced that they are building a 4-Star Conference Center Hotel that will have 320 rooms, have a spa, rooftop bar, restaurant, 500 seat ballroom in the Vikings Lakes. Read more about the announcement here.
City Website: https://www.cityofeagan.com/
We hope you learned something new about the cities listed above. If one of these cities is your home town, or a city you are interested in, let us know if you have anything that you know that makes this city great!
If you are interested in any other cities in the Twin Cities metro, we'd love to help you find the resources to learn more about your own town, or areas of interest.