New options considered for Roseville License Center and Dance Studio
by Greg Simbeck and Naomi Krueger
The City of Roseville is undertaking a civic campus expansion project to build a new Public Works & Parks Maintenance Operations Center north of Woodhill Dr. on what is currently Veterans Park. In November 2024, residents approved a half percent local sales tax to fund the project. That tax will start being collected on July 1. The city had hoped to pay for a new building for the License/Passport Center and the city's Dance Studio with the sales tax too. But this ballot measure failed.
Currently, city staff and city council are exploring new options for the license and passport center and dance studio (LPCDS),which must be relocated to make space for the new Maintenance Operations Center. At the June 16 city council meeting, BKV Architects and Kraus-Anderson presented several layout options for consideration.
After hearing all of the options, the city council directed staff to further study the “Concept C” layouts for the civic campus expansion. In Concept C, parts of the existing Public Works buildings on the south side of Woodhill would be renovated and expanded, rather than moving everything to the north side. Additionally, the Veterans Park softball field and playground would be preserved and/or improved and the VFW would not need to be relocated. City council also directed staff to consult with local realtors on the possibility of leasing space for the city-owned license and passport center, rather than building a new facility. They also entertained the possibility of designing the dance studio separately, since it serves a completely separate function from the license and passport center and has different space needs. There was no motion made to vote on the options.
Project Recap
At the council meeting on January 13, it was determined that one of the next steps was to discuss how to address the LPCDS. At the February 10 meeting, council directed staff to put together a Request For Proposals to hire an architect to look into various options for the LPCDS.
Naomi Krueger
The overall goal of this study was to provide updated cost estimates and options for city council, to determine if there is a less costly option for the LPCDS than the current plan identified in the Civic Campus Pre-Design Study (CCPDS). The city council approved entering into a professional services agreement with BKV Architects (BKV) for this new study at the March 17 city council meeting. In addition to estimating updated costs for the LPCDS, BKV was also tasked with estimating updated costs for the Operations Center and doing a facilities assessment of the existing maintenance buildings.
BKV Assessment
City staff worked with BKV and their sub-consultants to review program usage, conduct a facility assessment and look at options identified in the scope as well as a few additional options for the License & Passport Center (LPC) and the Maintenance Operations Center. The LPC’s needs have changed since 2021, due to program growth. This means the LPC needs 10,400 gross square feet (GSF), up from 8,700 GSF. This increases the costs for this facility in the proposed new estimates and alternatives to $14 million to $16 million. The 2022 cost estimate for a new LPCDS was $12.7 million.
In all design concepts presented, costs have increased since they were last estimated. City Manager Pat Trudgeon said these were “worst case scenario” numbers, which factored in rising costs due to inflation and tariffs.
The Maintenance Operations Center estimated costs have decreased from the 2022 estimate of $64 million to an estimated maximum of $60.8 million, depending on the final design. This will be paid for with the sales tax.
New Layout Concept Options
Mike Tilley from BKV Architects and Dustin Phillips from Kraus-Anderson Construction presented the following concepts and layout options to the city council.
In the PreDesign SitePlan, which was adopted in 2022, the entirety of the new Public Works and Parks Operations Facility would be on the north side of Woodhill Dr., in the space currently occupied by Veterans Park, the VFW, and the Lexington Shoppes which house the license and passport center, the city’s dance studio, and some independent retailers.
According to the BKV presentation, all cost estimates assume construction would begin in 2026.
Below are the different concepts presented and the Pros and Cons as outlined by the consultants at the BKV Group:
CONCEPT A | LICENSE CENTER + DANCE STUDIO
Estimated Project Cost: $16.5 million
Summary
Concept A requires demolition of existing maintenance building and constructing new one-story buildings for license center/passport, dance studio, and VFW on the south side of Woodhill. Provides connection to the Skating Center parking lot for parking overflow.
PROS:
- New buildings, purposefully planned for intended use(s)
- Green space provided between city hall and new development
- Green space adjacent to new VFW building
CONS:
- Does not meet code required parking
- New build in lieu of re-using existing buildings
CONCEPT B | LICENSE CENTER + DANCE STUDIO
Estimated Project Cost: $13.7M
Summary
In Concept B, the North and South portions of the existing maintenance building would be demolished and portions of the newest existing maintenance building would be repurposed for the VFW, Dance Studio, and License/Passport Center buildings. A new public parking lot with new building entrances facing east would be built, connected to current City Hall parking. The Maintenance Operations Center would go north of Woodhill as in the Pre-design plan.
PROS:
- Uses newer portion of existing buildings
- VFW access to large green spaces for events, etc.
- Planned use requires less parking
- North and South buildings in poor condition are demolished
- New public parking connected to existing City Hall parking
CONS:
- Does not meet code required parking
- Large parking area; limited greenspace
CONCEPT C | License Center + Dance Studio
Estimated Project Cost: $14.5 million
Concept C.1
Summary
In Concept C.1, portions of the existing Maintenance Operations Facility would be renovated with building expansion both south and north of Woodhill Drive. New two-story building is constructed for the License/Passport Center and Dance Studio on Western side of what is currently Veterans Park.
PROS:
- Yard area geometry allows more flexibility of use
- South facing salt storage
- Larger storage building illustrating more drive lane, allows for adaptability of interior use
- Maintains portion of park area
- Maintains VFW operations in current location
CONS:
- Larger building and location cuts off connection to Lexington via north drive
- Yard area is smaller
- No additional parking is provided to support City Hall
CONCEPT C.2
Summary
In Concept C.2, portions of the existing Maintenance Operations Facility would be renovated with building expansion both south and north of Woodhill Drive. New two-story building is constructed for the License/Passport Center and Dance Studio on Western side of site.
PROS:
- Flexible yard area with north access/egress
- Storage building is efficiently sized and could be expanded
- Maintains portion of park area
- Maintains VFW operations
CONS:
- Larger paving area required for circulation
- Best, feasible access to northern storage building is only from Woodhill Drive without shifting building
- No additional parking is provided to support city hall
Discussion
Councilmember Schroeder brought up the possibility of permanently or temporarily relocating the License/Passport Center and possibly the Dance Studio to other location(s) in Roseville to help facilitate the timeline for the completion of the Maintenance Operations Facility. That idea will be considered when designing a final plan.
Councilmember Strahan voiced her desire to pursue one of the C options to help alleviate some of the space concerns at City Hall, since it would provide additional space in the new buildings for parks and public works staff.
Councilmember Bauer was assured by the presenters that all of the various options still meet the space goals and needs that the city has. Councilmember Bauer said that if we do decide to move the License Center and the Dance Studio to another location, he would like to see some numbers on how popular the Dance Studio is and how much it would cost.
“Because if we find out that building a Dance Studio for n amount of people is actually a few thousand dollars each per year per dancer, we might have to re-evaluate as it might not be fiscally responsible,” Bauer said.
During the meeting, Parks and Recreation Director Matt Johnson said there are currently over 600 program registrants who use the dance studio year round.
Public Works Director Jesse Freihammer informed the council that the C options are a little short in yard space than the other options but still more than the city currently has and more space efficient. He also reiterated to council that the C options would keep all city staff on the southside of Woodhill and the northside would have overflow and storage.
Parks and Recreation Director Matt Johnson explained to the council that under these options the Veterans Park ball field and playground would be preserved, but that some adjustments would have to be made, which would make the ball field even better for youth softball.
“Before our next discussion, I would like staff to reach out to local real estate folks to try and get some understanding of the marketplace and what we would be looking at in terms of leasing some space. We should know more about this rather than continue to speculate about it,” Mayor Dan Roe said at the end of the conversation.
During the public comment portion, Roseville resident Roger Hess Jr. spoke up in favor of the original Pre-Design plan, saying he “hated the idea of continuing to use the current public works building” for any part of the redesign. He preferred a totally new maintenance and operations facility built north of Woodhill.
Roseville resident Matt Drwall, from Griggs Street, spoke up in favor of Concept C, because it would preserve the park space directly adjacent to his and his neighbors’ properties. He was also supportive of not moving the VFW and repurposing some of the existing public works buildings.
“That’s something we could be on board with. We don’t want to be at odds with the city we live in,” Drwall said. “I’ve lived here for 10 years. I really like being a resident of Roseville.”
Next Steps
Council issued a staff direction to pursue one of the C options while also looking into offsite leasing options for a License Center location. Further information and discussion will be part of the July 7 city council meeting.
A potential project timeline as presented by BKV is as follows:
Learn More
You can view the BKV Group's presentation files in the June 16 city council meeting materials here.
Watch the presentation and discussion during the June 16 city council meeting here:
Greg Simbeck is a freelance writer who lives in Roseville, Minnesota. He has had 200 articles published on national sites including Yardbarker, WhoWhatWhy, and New Leaf News. He and his wife Mary Jo have lived in Roseville for over 17 years. He was previously a commissioner on the Roseville Parks and Recreation Commission and a board member of the Rice-Larpenteur Alliance.
Naomi Krueger is the founding journalist and editor of the Roseville Reader. She and her husband have lived in Roseville for over a decade and have two sons in Roseville Area Schools. When not covering local news, Krueger works as a children's book editor, enjoys gardening, and takes frequent walks around her neighborhood with her cocker spaniel Yeti.
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