Opus Station Area Sustainable Development Plan

The Southwest Light Rail Transit line is proposed to run from downtown Minneapolis to Eden Prairie, with the Opus Station planned for the center of the 640-acre Opus Business Park, the largest employment center in Minnetonka. In anticipation of redevelopment around the proposed Opus station, the City of Minnetonka’s Planning Department sought recommendations for how to make future development sustainable. Graduate students in a capstone workshop in urban planning at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs taught by Dr. Carissa Schively Slotterback worked with City staff and other stakeholders to create this sustainability plan for the station area to guide future development of the site. The plan includes an analysis of existing conditions, examples of transit-oriented developments in other suburban business parks nationwide, a detailed site plan for sustainable development of the site, and specific recommendations for promoting and implementing sustainability on the site. The report serves as a model for other communities interested in addressing sustainability at the site level.