A theater group said it has purchased the former Minnesota Zephyr train depot in Stillwater with plans to reconstruct it into a professional theater providing live performances, education and artistic opportunities.
The $6.5 million project would include a new performance hall on one end of the existing building — once the passenger waiting room for the Zephyr dinner train — as well as a gift shop and restaurant.
The project features a 324-seat theater that would offer six productions of its own each year and serve as a regional performing arts center for music and other arts, according to the founding company, Only a Dim Image Productions.
A fundraising campaign is underway in hopes of a November 2017 opening.
Owner David Paradeau had tried for years to sell the depot, at the north end of Main Street. The corridor once followed by the dinner train is now the Brown's Creek State Trail.
Project details are available at stillwaterzephyrtheatre.org.
Kevin Giles
St. Paul
City hosts open house on soccer stadium plans
Want a more detailed look at the redevelopment plans surrounding a proposed new professional soccer stadium in St. Paul's Midway area? The city this week will host a community open house on the plans at Concordia University's Buenger Education Center.
After remarks by Mayor Chris Coleman and state Rep. Rena Moran, architects will discuss the draft master plan for the development. The open house will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Officials with the Minnesota United soccer team unveiled the plans for the $150 million stadium last month. The owner of the nearby Midway Shopping Center has pitched a proposal to redevelop the area around the stadium as an "urban village" that would include office towers, restaurants and housing.
James Walsh
MOUND
Lake Minnetonka agency to get a new leader
The public agency that regulates use of Lake Minnetonka will get a new executive director later this year.
The Lake Minnetonka Conservation District's board of directors has approved a separation agreement with Executive Director Greg Nybeck, who has worked for the agency for more than 20 years. At a board meeting last week, the board announced that it had met in closed session last month to evaluate Nybeck's performance and then had entered into the agreement.
Nybeck will be on paid administrative leave from April 29 to Oct. 31, his last day in the top job.
"It was a mutual agreement," board chairman Jay Green said, adding that the agency is ready for several changes. "I think it's a positive move for everybody."
The Legislature created the conservation district for the Twin Cities' largest and most popular lake in 1967, to regulate its use in matters such as docks, speed limits and quiet water areas. Rules are enforced by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
The conservation district, which has a budget this year of $570,366, is partly publicly funded by a levy of property taxes from the 14 cities along the lake.
KELLY SMITH
ST. PAUL
Council to vote on Cleveland Av. bike lanes
A controversial proposal to add bicycle lanes along Cleveland Avenue will go before the City Council on Wednesday.
The council will consider adding bike facilities on Cleveland between Highland Parkway and University Avenue. The first phase would be finished this year and is expected to cost $266,500, according to city documents. A second phase from University Avenue to St. Anthony Avenue costing $95,500 is also planned, but the timeline has not been finalized.
The plan has drawn mixed reviews from community members, with some raising concerns about crashes and the loss of parking. Two parking bays will be added to help replace lost spaces.
JESSIE VAN BERKEL
