Eagan, Twin Cities Relocation

Eagan: Where A Well-Off Community Thrives

Eagan is one of the best cities for corporate relocation and employee relocation due to its extensive greeneries and bountiful lakes and ponds.  While these features make it a priority area for people choosing homes for sale or condominium, these features are also the very reasons why commercial establishments also prefer the area for investment.

The city is technically young having been incorporated only in 1974.  However, it has grown by leaps and bounds and was named by Money Magazine as the Top 12 “Best Place To Live” in the United States.

Aside from its parks and open spaces, what makes Eagan an attractive area for residents and businesses is its proximity to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul as well as to the airport and employment and investment opportunities.

History

Eagan was originally populated by the Sioux Indians who settled on the Black Dog Village along the Minnesota River.  The fur industry has stirred the attention of the Europeans who explored the area in the 1600s.  In fact, Eagan was under the French domain and the Spanish domain until 1803 after the United States obtained the area with its purchased Louisiana.

Eagan wand the other parts of Southern Minnesota were opened to settlers in 1851 after the signing of the treaties. The first settlers, who came from Germany, Ireland and French Canada, farmed the area and paved the way for the establishment of agriculture as the primary economic activity in Eagan up to the present.

With a population of 567, the Eagan township was established in 1860, two years after Minnesota officially became a state.  Among the members of the first supervisory board were Patrick Eagan after whom Eagan was named, Robert O’Neill and James Callan.

Eagan experienced a slow population growth from 1880 to 1950.  However, the establishment of the interstate highway system in the 1950s led to the growth not only of Eagan’s population but also the conversion of Eagan farmlands into suburban communities.

Eagan was officially designated as a city in 1974.  And while it is considered a fairly young city, it is considered a developing community with focus on careful land use planning and sustainable development.

Community Profile

Eagan has a population of 63,557 with 23,773 households as of the 2000 Census.  Most of the residents are Whites (88.03%) followed by Asians (5.31%), African Americans (3.41%) and other races.  Eagan has a young population with an average age of 33 years.  Of the total population count, only 4.2% are 65 years old or older while 30% are below 18 years of age.

The residents of Eagan are generally well-off with an average family income of $80,062 per family and $67,388 per household.  With a per capita income of $30,167, only a meager 1.9% of the families and 2.9% of the entire population were living below poverty level.

Business

Eagan has a very active business community primarily because of its strategic location making it easily accessible to and from the MSP Airport and the freeways.  Among the businesses that have established their presence in Eagan are Mesaba Airlines, Thomson West, Northwest Airlines and the bottling facility of Coca Cola Midwest.

The top employer of Eagan is Thomson Reuters with 6800 people, Blue Cross Blue Shield with 3900 people. Northwest Airlines with 1830 people, Lockheed Martin with 1600 people, US Postal Service with 1570people and United Parcel Service with 1400 people.  Other companies employing from 200 to less than a thousand people are Goodrich, Wal-Mart, Skyline Displays, Wells Fargo Mortgage, and Ecolab.

Eagan mayor Mike Maguire confirmed Eagan’s phenomenal business growth along with the completion of long-awaited construction projects as well as the initiation of an energy conservation program.  Eagan is experiencing a rise in new offices and industrial spaces which has in turn led to a rise in the vacancy rate of offices in the city.

The Minnesota Commercial Association of Realtors reported an increase in office vacancy rates between the years 2006 and 2007.  An estimated 12.5% of a total office space of 5.8 square feet has been left vacant in 2007 compared to the only 11.2% rate in the past year.  This is however lower than the 14.6% vacancy rate reported in the Twin Cities.

It is ironic that while some small business have upgraded to Class A or B office spaces due to brisk business, several small businesses have closed shop due to survival problems and have left more Class C office spaces vacant.

Eagan is faced with a building and construction boom with 13 construction projects worth $1 million or more in 2007 alone.  A total of $90.43 million in terms of non-residential building permits have been collected in 2007.  The projects were a mix of renovation, expansion and new construction projects.

Among the 13 major commercial and industrial projects in 2007 are Staywell and DART industrial building.  The Dakota County Community Development Agency also filed a permit for a $4.68 million project involving the construction of 55 senior housing apartments while Argosy University filed a permit for the construction of the $400,000 Yankee Doodle Professional Building.  A $1.3 million expansion project has also been filed by the Post Office Bulk mail.

Housing

The Cedar Grove Housing Development resulted to an increase in Eagan’s population from 1960 up to the present. As of April 2007, there are 26,561 housing units in the city and 25,835 of these are occupied.  If you are keen on accepting a corporate relocation or employee relocation in Eagan then it would be useful to note that the city has an average house market value of $263,458.

Notable residents

Among the famous resident of Eagan are Miss Minnesota USA 2006 Dottie Canon, USA Women’s hockey team star player Natalie Darwitz, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and stage actress Laura Osnes.

Eagan is an ideal place to live and do business in with a balanced social and economic infrastructure allowing its residents to live a balanced and sustainable lifestyle.  So if you’re planning on relocating you should check out what Eagan has to offer for you and your family.

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