On the stretch of Elrene Road north of Wescott Station Park, the trees between the road and the old West Publishing grounds are not coming down. That stretch is now Outlot F, about 9.9 acres set aside as city park land. In the 2024 approvals for the former Thomson Reuters campus, it became the piece that faces the neighborhood.
Most coverage of the site is about the big buildings. Ryan Companies is turning the 180-acre campus into what it calls Eagan Tech Park. The plans include an Amazon automated fulfillment center, an Amazon delivery center, a data center, and Lennar townhomes. Those buildings are real, and they are big. But the parts closest to Ridgewood Drive and Elrene Road were redrawn during city review. And the connection drivers would likely use most, Opperman Drive through to Yankee Doodle Road, is still waiting on a state environmental approval.
The woods came from a revision
Ryan bought 179 acres of the campus at the end of 2024, out of Thomson Reuters' 263-acre property. The City Council approved the master preliminary plan on November 19, 2024. Before that vote, a revised plan changed the west side of the site, the side next to existing homes and Wescott Station Park. A city planner's memo lists the changes:
- A new Outlot F, about 9.9 acres north of Wescott Station Park and reaching west to Elrene Road, set aside for park land.
- Planned single-family lots on Outlot C cut from 25 to 7, so more trees could stay.
- Conservation easements over parts of Outlot B and along the west edge of Outlot C where it meets Elrene Road.
- A new public trail through Outlot F.
According to the same memo, the park dedication protects nearly 300 trees for the long term. A 2025 city planning report says park dedication for the whole redevelopment was satisfied by Outlot F, "enlarging Wescott Station Park."
That makes the land a formal addition to a park the neighborhood already has. Ryan's project site describes the same commitment as walking trails, 9.9 acres of additional park land, a tree preservation area, and upgraded stormwater management.
Where the new trail goes
The planner's memo describes the trail in Outlot F as running from Elrene Road to the western edge of Outlot A. There it meets another planned trail that continues into Wescott Station Park and links to the park's existing trails. The new segment is about half a mile long. It raises the project's total new public trail from 1.1 miles to 1.57 miles.
That gives people on the Elrene Road side a path into Wescott Station Park without walking around the old campus. The city lists the park at 3670 Ridgewood Drive, with a ballfield, a hard court, and a playground. The listing was last updated in 2024.
On the other side of the campus, the city's 2025 review of the data center site called for sidewalks along the site's east and north sides. It also called for a pedestrian crossing over a private access road, connecting west to an existing paved trail.
The approvals do not say when the Outlot F trail will be built or opened. Ryan's site describes walking trails as being added. We could not find any city record confirming that the new trails are open to the public yet. Until the city announces them, treat the Elrene-to-Wescott link as approved and promised, with no opening date.
Two memorials, in two places
The site has two separate plans to mark what the campus used to be. The 2024 revision added a private memorial monument wall for Thomson Reuters at the west edge of Outlot A. That puts it near where the new trail meets the path into Wescott Station Park.
The second is on the Project Alpha parcel. When the council acted on Alpha on March 17, 2026, its conditions set aside part of that lot's green space for a future memorial garden. Alpha sits south of Opperman Drive at the southwest corner of Highway 149. Ryan's project site shows preliminary renderings of a "Remembrance Garden."
The records we reviewed do not say whether the garden and the wall are related, or when either will be built. Ryan's site also posts the original 1990 West Publishing–Thomson Reuters site plan. It is worth a look if you remember the campus before Opperman Drive was lined with construction fencing.
Where each piece of the campus stands
The industrial buildings and the neighborhood-side features are moving on different schedules. Here is where each piece stood in the most recent city records we found.
| Piece of the campus | What it is | Latest status found |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon distribution center, 701 Opperman Dr. | About 3 million square feet | Under construction; the city's Q2 2026 business news said it was slated to open sometime in 2027 |
| Project Alpha, south of Opperman Dr. | 337,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility | Site preparation underway as of July 2026; final plan approval not confirmed |
| Centra MSP1 data center | 12 MW reuse of the former Thomson Reuters data center | Targeted to open by late summer 2026; a July 28 staff memo said it was not yet operating |
| Trails End Commons, Yankee Doodle and Elrene roads | 104 Lennar townhomes on 22 acres | Under construction |
| Outlot F | About 9.9 acres added to Wescott Station Park, with trail | Dedicated; no build schedule published |
| Remaining campus land | About 10 acres | Ryan seeking tenants |
City pages give different addresses and square footage for the Centra building, so the table leaves those out. The 2027 date for the Amazon building comes from a city construction list that also showed a car wash elsewhere in Eagan as under construction. A later city roundup listed that car wash as complete. Take 2027 as a target, not a firm date.
For the remaining 10 acres, Ryan's approved uses include data center, logistics, warehousing, research and laboratory, and office showroom. That leads to the city rule that limits what can go there.
The rule that keeps big data centers away from homes
On February 17, 2026, the Eagan City Council unanimously passed a data center interim ordinance. The city describes it as the first of its kind in Minnesota. Through February 17, 2027, no new data center can be located within 500 feet of homes or use more than 20 megawatts of electricity, unless the council lifts the moratorium earlier.
"The size and scope of [these] data centers are giving the Council pause," Mayor Mike Maguire said at that meeting. City staff are studying energy and water use, noise, design standards, and how data centers fit into Eagan's zoning.
Centra's 12 MW project was approved before the moratorium, so it falls under that limit anyway. For anyone living next to the campus, this means any new data center proposed for the leftover acres before February 2027 would face the 500-foot and 20-megawatt limits. After that, city staff will bring recommendations to the council, and the council will decide what restrictions to adopt.
The road link is waiting on a state letter
The change many drivers would notice most is a through street. On August 3, the council unanimously approved a settlement, on its consent agenda, with Ryan Companies and Gopher Resource. The agreement makes Opperman Drive a city street and lets it extend to Yankee Doodle Road.
The extension crosses 1.47 acres on the western part of Gopher Resource's property, at the southwest corner of Yankee Doodle Road and Highway 149, also called Dodd Road. The city filed an amended petition in Dakota County District Court on July 16, 2025, to acquire that strip. Gopher opposed it. On March 13, 2026, the court granted the city's request, subject to a restrictive covenant and any permits held by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Under the settlement, Ryan builds the extension and compensates Gopher. Construction can't start until the MPCA approves two documents, a Final Sampling and Analysis Plan and a Final Closure Certification Report. The MPCA's closure letter would also state that the road area is no longer part of an existing Solid Waste Management Unit. Once those steps are done, Ryan can build and the city can accept the street.
As of early October 2026, we found no public record that the MPCA has approved those documents, that construction has started, or when the road might open. The legal dispute is settled. The paperwork is not. Until the MPCA issues its letter, the Opperman Drive extension to Yankee Doodle Road remains approved but unscheduled.
If you live near Wescott Station Park and have a question about the trail, the Opperman Drive connection, or construction near your street, Ryan Companies takes questions at [email protected]. If you'd like to know how the campus changes and the new trail could figure into your home's value, the team at Huerkamp Home Group follows Eagan closely. Start with a free market valuation, or browse our Eagan neighborhood page.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
