District 191 released the following information about ongoing work regarding the former Metcalf Middle School building

District 191 takes its responsibility for the former Metcalf Middle School property seriously and has taken several steps both to limit illegal activity at the site and to move forward with redevelopment of the property.

The district has a purchase agreement in place with developer Pulte Homes and they have been working to meet the requests of the city of Eagan while securing development for the site. That process has been lengthy, leading to delays in demolishing the building. 

Building Demolition

In September, after completing an environmental scan of the property, District 191 posted a call for bids for the demolition of the Metcalf Middle School building. Those bids were opened earlier this month and presented to the District 191 Board of Education at its Sept. 24 meeting. 

Bids for the project ranged from $795,000 to $2.6 million. The low responsible bidder came from DRC Inc., and includes the complete demolition of the existing building, site controls, debris removal and disposal, grading, and site restoration.

While the District has been pursuing funding sources, including grants through Dakota County, no monetary support outside of the district’s own funds has been secured. The district is highly aware of its responsibility to taxpayers and wants school taxes and the revenue from the sale of any properties to be used for education purposes, not for tearing down a building when that cost could be borne by a developer or paid through other means.

The District will continue to search for additional funding options, including additional grants. Given that situation, the Board chose to postpone acting on the bids until its Nov. 12 meeting.  

Ongoing Safety

Starting in June, District 191 allocated 70 hours per week of in-person monitoring of its open facilities sites, including Metcalf. Those services have already helped to disrupt suspicious activity near the buildings. 

The district has also requested and offered to pay for the presence of an Eagan Police surveillance trailer at the site as a deterrent to trespassing and vandalism, though that has not been granted to date. 

District 191 is thankful for the work of local police and fire fighters to keep residents safe, including in response to a fire earlier this summer. We look forward to the site being redeveloped as soon as possible so it can be a safe, useful part of our community again, and we’re open to any support and partnership from other government partners to make that happen.