December 2025

Project updates

The AUAR update was published in the EQB Monitor on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. That kicked off a 10-day public comment period for the AUAR, ending Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. The city is compiling the comments received and will provide responses with the approval of the AUAR by the city council, scheduled for October 6, 2025.

The document can be viewed below:

The West End AUAR Update (2025)

Project description

The owner of the Shops at West End, Hempel Real Estate, is exploring the possibility of redeveloping a vacant corner of the Shops to have ground floor commercial, with 4-6 stories of office space above. Before they can finalize a proposal, the city requires an update to the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the West End. The original West End AUAR was adopted in 2007 and has since been updated in 2013, 2018 and 2023. The possibility of a new multi-story office use exceeded what had previously been studied and necessitated this update.

AUAR update

The proposed redevelopment site is within the study boundary of the Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) for the West End development.

The West End study area consists of 48.6 acres located at the southwest corner of I-394 and Trunk Highway 100 in St. Louis Park, MN, with eastern portions of the site in Golden Valley, MN.

The City of St. Louis Park adopted The West End Final Alternative Urban Areawide Review (AUAR) in March 2007. Since that time, development within the study area has occurred. Pursuant to Minnesota Rules 4410.3610 Subpart 7, an AUAR and plan for mitigation must be revised every five years until all development in the study area has received final approval. The first update to the AUAR was adopted by the City of St. Louis Park in October 2013, and a second update to the AUAR was adopted by the City of St. Louis Park in 2018 and a third update occurred in 2023.  Since the 2023 AUAR Update, a new development within the study area has been proposed that would exceed what was previously studied in the 2023 AUAR Update. Therefore, the purpose of this 2025 document is to provide another update to the West End AUAR pursuant to Minnesota Rules 4410.3610.

The 2007 AUAR included an analysis of five development scenarios as follows:

• Scenario 1 – 1,750,000 square feet (SF) of redevelopment
• Scenario 2 – Maximum Build Scenario – 3,085,00 SF of redevelopment
• Scenario 3 – Minimum Build Scenario – 1,530,000 SF of redevelopment
• Scenario 4 – 1,700,000 SF of redevelopment
• Scenario 5 – Comprehensive Plan Scenario – 2,000,000 SF of redevelopment

The draft 2025 AUAR update report includes a report on development to date, disclosure of updated development scenarios, an update to the environmental analysis as necessary, and a review of mitigation measures.

The document can be viewed below:

The West End AUAR Update (2025)

The AUAR update was published in the EQB Monitor on Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. That kicked off a 10-day public comment period for the AUAR, ending Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. The city is compiling the comments received and will provide responses with the approval of the AUAR by the city council, scheduled for October 6, 2025.