Edina approves major France Avenue redevelopment and heritage protections

General Interest
Meeting Date: Date not available
Story generated: Jun 12, 2026
Focus: Edina approves major France Avenue redevelopment and heritage protections

The Edina City Council approved a $9-acre mixed-use development on France Avenue and strengthened protections for the historic Country Club District, advancing the city's growth and preservation goals simultaneously.

The City Council unanimously approved plans to redevelop the former Macy's Furniture and Mattress Gallery site on France Avenue into a mixed-use community featuring four new buildings. The project will include an 11-story condominium with office and retail space, a 7-story apartment building with restaurants, and two additional 7-story apartment buildings. The development team, Enclave Companies and Lifestyle Communities, designed the site to visually connect with the adjacent promenade, with one representative explaining: "We were told we want the look and feel of the promenade to flow all the way up through the site so it feels like the promenade is actually being expanded into the property." The existing 9 Creek bicycle trail will be preserved along the property's southern edge. The developers are currently working to secure project financing.

In a separate action, the Council approved multiple measures to strengthen heritage preservation in Edina, particularly in the Country Club District—a neighborhood developed in the 1920s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The new ordinance clarifies when property owners need a "certificate of appropriateness" before making modifications, reducing confusion for residents and builders. A new escrow policy requires contractors working on heritage properties to maintain accounts ensuring compliance with approved plans. City staff noted the ordinance "provides a tool for staff an enforcement tool to make sure that what's been approved by the heritage preservation commission is what's built." A 2019 survey found 88% of the district's 555 homes remain contributing historic resources, indicating strong preservation success.

The Council also heard presentations on two community initiatives. The Energy and Environment Commission showcased electric vehicles to advance the city's climate goals, which target a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 25% electric vehicle adoption by 2030. Transportation currently accounts for 41.1% of Edina's emissions. The Human Rights and Relations Commission announced an upcoming "Pride in Edina" community event scheduled for October 22nd at City Hall, featuring Senator Scott Dibble and author Ellie Krug discussing how to make Edina welcoming for LGBTQ+ residents, workers, students, and visitors.

This story was created by artificial intelligence (a large language model) based on the proceedings captured in the video below.

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Other Topics from This Document

  • Heritage Preservation and Country Club District Protection

  • Electric Vehicle Adoption and Climate Action

  • LGBTQ+ Community Inclusion and Welcoming Initiative

Meeting Analysis
Approved (specific vote count not provided in transcript)
Approved (specific vote count not provided in transcript)
Not applicable - informational/educational event
Not applicable - event announcement

We were told we want the look and feel of the promenade to flow all the way up through the site so it feels like the promenade is actually being expanded into the property and we can see the swooping designs of the landscaping islands... for the casual user walking in and out of the site the intent is for it to feel like an expansion of the promenade versus private property

Development Team Representative [Timestamp]France Avenue Redevelopment - Planned Unit Development and Site Plan Approval

The ordinance provides clarity for residents and builders on when a certificate of appropriateness is needed and when it's not needed and it also provides a tool for staff an enforcement tool to make sure that what's been approved by the heritage preservation commission is what's built

Unknown [Timestamp]Heritage Preservation Commission Code Amendments and Country Club District Protection Measures

We've had an EV for 2 years my wife and I both love the EV um it's a better driving experience it's very reliable um we have never had any issues with the battery going down to zero even close

EV Owner/Panelist [Timestamp]Electric Vehicle Showcase and Climate Action Plan Implementation

Initially I was focused on the environmental footprint and wanting to do my part and then I test drove an EV and it's such a better driving experience there's more torque it's immediately available at all points in driving you can accelerate out of anything if you need to um it's just more fun to drive

EV Owner/Panelist [Timestamp]Electric Vehicle Showcase and Climate Action Plan Implementation

The cool thing about EV is the technology is fantastic they're very safe um the range is getting better and the performance is phenomenal

EV Expert/Panelist [Timestamp]Electric Vehicle Showcase and Climate Action Plan Implementation

In an era of outright hostility to the LGBTQ+ community in many parts of the country the Edina Human Rights and Relations Commission will host Pride in Edina welcome a conversation on making Edina welcoming for LGBTQ+ residents workers students and visitors

Unknown/Host [Timestamp]LGBTQ+ Community Inclusion Event - Pride in Edina
Source Document
Focus: Original document text

[Music] welcome to agenda Edina a program summarizing the actions taken at City Hall that affect you most I'm your host dorothia Marty a development team has secured approvals for a Redevelopment of the 9 Acre Site of the current Macy's Furniture and Mattress Gallery on France Avenue Enclave companies and lifestyle communities have secured approvals to subdivide the property in into three separate Lots with plans for four new buildings the existing Macy's store will be relocated and the existing building will be raised earlier this month the city council resed the property as a planned unit development and approved the final plot and site plan for the project one of the buildings will be an 11-story condominium building with office space and either a restaurant or retailer on the street level another will be a seven story mixed use building with Apartments the other two will be seven story apartment buildings one of those will also have space for a restaurant each building will include internal parking for residents employees and customers the street level parking stalls would be available to the general public the site plan is arranged with new roadways new sidewalks and new Landscaping areas that are available to the general public the existing 9 Creek bicycle trail will remain on the southern edge of the property good evening mayor members of the city council if I may I'll jump into this good to be with you again we were told we want the look and feel of the prominade to flow all the way up through the site so it feels like the prominade is actually being expanded into the property and we can see the swooping designs of the Landscaping Islands the large Landscaping Islands now they're bmed but the level of planting and the intensity and complexity of planting here mimics the schedule for the prominade so for the casual user walking in and out of the site the intent is for it to feel like an expansion of the prominade versus private property the development team is working to obtain financing for the project the city is taking new steps to protect its Rich history focusing on preserving the iconic Country Club district and other Heritage landmarks in a move to strengthen these efforts the city council recently approved several key measures including amending the city code related to the heritage preservation Commission in addition a new escrow policy for contractors working on homes in the country club District or other Heritage landmarks was introduced and finally the plan of treatment for the country club District was updated the ordinance provides Clarity for residents and builders on when a certificate of appropriateness is needed and when it's not needed and it also provides a tool for staff an enforcement tool to make sure that what's been approved by the heritage preservation commission is what's built the country club District was developed in the 1920s following models in Kansas City and several East Coast cities most homes were built from 1924 to 1944 in 1983 the district was listed on the national register of historic places for its use of zoning cohesive design and well-preserved concentration of homes in Period Revival architectural styles in the early 1980s 507 of the 555 homes or 93% were deemed to be contributing resources that retain sufficient historic Integrity in 2003 Idina designated the district as a Heritage landmark and approved a plan of treatment to Guide local preservation a survey in 2019 found that 488 homes or 88% remained contributing resources and that the district is in an excellent state of preservation the changes to the plan of treatment seek to ensure the historic nature of the country club district is preserved for decades to come making the switch to an electric vehicle can seem like a big step earlier this month the energy and environment commission hosted an electric vehicle showcase allowing people to get their questions answered by Electric Vehicle owner ERS and dealers Edina TV was there and shares how this event worked toward meeting the city of edina's climate action plan [Music] goals you yes you you've been thinking about getting a new car haven't you ever thought about an EV you know an electric vehicle I get it you don't want to go to a dealer and get a big sales pitch e s are complicated unreliable and expensive right wrong we've had an EV for 2 years my wife and I both love the EV um it's a better Driving Experience it's very reliable um we have never had any issues with the battery going down to zero even close John gets it and if you're like him you're concerned about the environment you may even know that in 2019 in Edina alone 41.1% of greenhouse gas emissions came from transportation that means cars just like ours our climate action plan sets a goal for us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 so we want to decarbonize our transportation sector which can be done by taking less vehicle trips walking biking but another component of that is electric vehicles that's why on Saturday October 5th Edina hosted an electric vehicle event it offered residents the chance to see and touch a wide variety of electric vehicles talked to both experts and local EV owners about their EV experience we're trying to reach Edina neighbors and help folks make those connections still not sold maybe you're worried that it just doesn't have enough muscle initially I was focused on the environmental footprint and wanting to do do my part and then I test drove an EV and it's such a better Driving Experience there's more torque it's immediately available at all points in driving you can accelerate out of anything if you need to um it's just more fun to drive hey the song says The Times They are a changing any Dina is on the Leading Edge of that change moving the gas to electric vehicle needle by only 1% prevents up to 2750 tons of greenhouse emissions annually our climate action plan aims to have 25% of vehicles need din be fully electric by 2030 the cool thing about EV is the technology is fantastic they're very safe um the rain is getting better and the performance is phenomenal I bet you're kind of bummed you miss that event ain't you no problem we got you covered for residents who have questions about electrifying at home putting in an EV charger purchasing Eevee we have those resources on our City website on the sustainability Pages for actions that residents can take and there's a section within there that talks about electric vehicles and EV charging it's great I think there's good buzz and everybody's excited for what we're trying to do here so I think the future is yeah we'll probably do this again next year maybe by next year instead of being the one asking questions it's got the dual screen you'll be here answering them for others looking at EVS for Edina TV I'm Tom Cornell visit Edina mn.gov sustainability for more information on actions residents can take including electrifying their homes and adding an electric vehicle charger in an era of outright hostility to the lgbtq plus community in many parts of the country the Edina human rights and relations commission will host pride and Edina welcome a conversation on making Edina welcoming for lgbtq plus residents workers students and visitors the event will be held 7 p.m. Tuesday October 22nd here in the council chambers of Edina City Hall presenting panelists are Senator Scott Dibble who has served in the Minnesota state senate for the past 22 years and is a Statewide leader and Advocate on lgbtq plus issues and Ellie kug author of getting to Ellen and nationally known speaker on inclusiveness and transgender issues emphasizing acceptance of the humanity in all of us I hope to see you there thank you for watching this episode of agenda Idina 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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