Edina Approves New Library-Art Center, Eyes County Tax Services
The Edina City Council approved plans for a 43,000-square-foot building combining the Southdale Library and Edina Art Center, while also moving forward with a proposal to transfer property assessment duties to Hennepin County in a cost-saving measure.
At its May 14 meeting, the Edina City Council greenlit a major civic project that will transform the corner of York Avenue and 70th Street into a combined library and arts facility. The existing Southdale Library building at 7001 York Avenue will be demolished to make way for the new structure, which will house both the library and the relocated Edina Art Center. The project, expected to take about three years to complete, received approval for a conditional use permit, site plan, and building height variance.
The new Art Center will occupy the upper level and feature studio spaces for ceramics, a maker space, gallery, and gift shop. Designers emphasized that the building will be sensitive to neighboring homes along Xerxes Avenue and in Richfield, with architectural features intended to reduce the structure's visual scale. The project will also replace what is currently a large parking lot with native landscaping.
In a separate cost-cutting move, the council directed City Manager Scott Neil to negotiate an agreement with Hennepin County to take over Edina's property assessment services. The city's seven-person assessing division handles property valuations, classifications, and appeals. If approved, the transition could save Edina approximately $500,000 in 2026 and $1 million annually starting in 2027. Most Hennepin County cities already use county assessing services; Edina is among a handful that still maintain their own staff. A final agreement could come before the council on June 2.
The meeting also highlighted a historic preservation milestone. The Mari and Hendrick Oscam house in Edina's Indian Hills neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places in January. Built in 1963 and designed by Elizabeth Close—one of Minnesota's first female architects—the home is considered one of the best examples of international style architecture in the Twin Cities. It is the first Close-designed house to receive the federal designation.
May was recognized as Historic Preservation Month, with the Heritage Preservation Commission encouraging residents to explore a city website map showing Edina's historic sites.
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Other Topics from This Document
New Southdale Library and Edina Art Center Project
National Registry Listing of Oscam House
Historic Preservation and Heritage Landmarks
Also from this meeting
▸Meeting Analysis
“To reduce costs and lighten the municipal property tax load, the Dina City Council has directed staff to prepare an agreement to possibly transition assessing services to Henipin County.”
“The biggest kind of wow factor will be the complete transformation of this site. Uh going from a majority parking lot paved um a high building that's on essentially stilts. uh so having a a kind of different feel than it has uh currently into the restorative aspect. So a very much uh native um process for the landscape and the overall uh moments that are created on the site will be really key to how a user will be uh experiencing the site.”
“Building the art center along colllocating it with the Henipin County Library really gives us the opportunity to build on the already vibrant arts community in Edina. It's something that residents are really going to benefit from having both library and art center in the same location. We'll also have a really amazing opportunity to work on different kinds of programs that will be a huge benefit to the community.”
“In the Netherlands, brick is a very prevalent building material, and so she incorporated the brick floors and also repeated that in the fireplace.”
“Function over style. This was an aspect of European modernism in architecture and close enjoyed a design challenge. She used practical materials on the exterior, another hallmark of her work, easy maintenance for the owner.”
“We would hope that Mari's interest in listing her home in the National Register could possibly inspire other homeowners in that same direction because these homes are clearly threatened.”
“Our role is to just make sure that these um community assets are um not only preserved but also celebrated and that people are aware of them and how they've contributed to the history of the community.”
▸Source Document
[Music] Welcome to Agenda Edina, a program summarizing the actions taken at city hall that affect you most. I'm your host, Dorothia Marty. To reduce costs and lighten the municipal property tax load, the Dina City Council has directed staff to prepare an agreement to possibly transition assessing services to Henipin County. The assessing division made up of seven full-time staff members establishes estimated market value and determines the property classification of every Edina property each year for property tax allocation. The division also maintains property records, performs annual quintile property reviews, performs property reviews based on new construction and building permits, administers the appeals process, including the board of appeals and equalization, and works with Henipin County on programs related to property assessment and classification. The county currently provides assessing services to all cities in Henipin County except Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Edina, Eden Prairie, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, Minnotonka, and St. Louis Park, as well as Fort Snelling, and the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Maple Grove is also considering moving assessing services to the county. If implemented in 2026, the change could reduce city spending by approximately $500,000 and by $1 million annually starting in 2027. Exact details of the possible transition have not been determined. Over the next several weeks, city manager Scott Neil will work with the county to prepare an agreement on the transition. The agreement is tenatively scheduled for the city council to review and possibly approve at its June 2nd meeting. The city has approved plans for a new Southdale library with space for the Edina Art Center. Last month, the city council approved a conditional use permit, site plan, and building height variance for the new 43,000q ft building. The existing building at 7001 York Avenue would be raised and the new building will be built closer to the intersection of York Avenue and 70th Street. Their proposed building design aims to be respectful of the surrounding area, particularly the scale of single family housing along Xerxes Avenue since the parcel borders a residential neighborhood in Richfield. The clear story popup is set back an additional 25 ft at the center of the facade to create the appearance of a smaller scale structure at the building perimeter. The biggest kind of wow factor will be the complete transformation of this site. Uh going from a majority parking lot paved um a high building that's on essentially stilts. uh so having a a kind of different feel than it has uh currently into the restorative aspect. So a very much uh native um process for the landscape and the overall uh moments that are created on the site will be really key to how a user will be uh experiencing the site. The Dina Art Center would be located on the upper level. Plans include a clay wheel room, a handbuilding space, a glaze room, and electric indoor and gas outdoor kils. There would also be a maker space, large art creation studio, gallery, and gift shop. Building the art center along colllocating it with the Henipin County Library really gives us the opportunity to build on the already vibrant arts community in Edina. It's something that residents are really going to benefit from having both library and art center in the same location. We'll also have a really amazing opportunity to work on different kinds of programs that will be a huge benefit to the community. The project is expected to take about 3 years to complete. An Edina house built in 1963 was recently added to the National Registry of Historic Places. The Oscam house was designed by architect Elizabeth Close, one of the first female architects in Minnesota. It is considered one of the best examples of the international style in the Twin Cities. Edina TV shows us why the home earned this special designation. Nestled in the Indian Hills neighborhood in Edina is a modestl looking house along the lake shore. Contrary to some of the larger houses nearby, this quiet and simple residence is small but elegant. We love the location, of course, Indian Hills. So, very attractive area and also the fact that we close to the lake. Mari Ascam and her husband Hrik immigrated here from the Netherlands. When looking to build a new home, they wanted to incorporate familiar European features. Well, the mid-century and we were familiar with it in the Netherlands because there you had the stale movement. The Mari and Hendrickk Askam house has become part of an endangered species. The Oscam house is the first house designed by Elizabeth Close that has been elevated to the National Register. Architect Elizabeth Close, known as Leisel, had a particular approach to designing a house. Before the design work, she would ask her clients to complete a detailed questionnaire to make sure they were getting the house they wanted. Here, she included materials that connected to Oscam's roots. In the Netherlands, brick is a very prevalent building material, and so she incorporated the brick floors and also repeated that in the fireplace. Function over style. This was an aspect of European modernism in architecture and close enjoyed a design challenge. She used practical materials on the exterior, another hallmark of her work, easy maintenance for the owner. The interior is equally innovative with this non-traditional floor plan. In 2015, Mari was able to get the house a heritage landmark designation. Then in January of this year, the Mari and Hendrickk OCAM house was approved to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places. We would hope that Mari's interest in listing her home in the National Register could possibly inspire other homeowners in that same direction because these homes are clearly threatened. Such unique examples of architecture in Adina are important to protect. This is part of the mission for the Heritage Preservation Commission. Our role is to just make sure that these um community assets are um not only preserved but also celebrated and that people are aware of them and how they've contributed to the history of the community. For Edina TV, I'm Kenneth Gaml. May is historic preservation month. To learn more about heritage landmarks, visit the city of Edina's website where you can find a map that shows the locations of historic sites throughout the city. May is also Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Observed annually, it's a time to reflect upon and celebrate the remarkable role of the AANHPI community in our nation's history. Thank you for watching this episode of Agenda Edina. I'm your host, Dorothia Marty. [Music]
This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.
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