Reuse study to look at feasibility of moving barn

The barn that sits on Pioneer Trail is in “pristine condition,” according to Robert Vogel, of Pathfinder CRM, a preservation consultant.

The challenge is what to do with the barn, which had been set for demolition to make way for a stormwater pond for the new Pioneer Trail.

Vogel, along with John Gertz, Eden Prairie’s preservation planner, offered information about the barn during an informational meeting Thursday at the City Center. They also took ideas about possible uses for the barn from those who attended the meeting, which included the barn’s most recent owners, the Sjostrand family.

Last year the county purchased the barn to make way for the stormwater site. At Thursday’s meeting, it was clear the Sjostrand family was looking for a solution in which it could return to the family.

Among the possible reuse solutions would be that the barn remain where it’s at and go back to the family, or that it could be moved to the family’s property near Farmington.

Vogel said they know enough about the barn “to know that it can be preserved, it can be moved.”
The rest of study will look at “trying to find a home for this.”

He said it is technically feasible to preserve it on site, but the design of the highway is restricted, or constricted by a few factors “that cannot be altered.”

“On paper, we’ve come up with a plan where the barn stays in place.”

However, it would be really difficult to get to the property. The driveway that currently extends from Pioneer Trail to the barn would not be allowed with the future four-lane road.

The effects on Staring Lake of making the stormwater pond smaller haven’t been assessed, noted Vogel.
“It’s entirely possible that the pond wouldn’t work if the barn is left,” he said.

A more likely option for the barn is that it be moved to a new site. A number of members from the Eden Prairie Players group were in attendance at the meeting. While acknowledging that ideally, the barn should go to the family, members expressed interest in the possibility of the barn being used as a permanent performance space for the players.

Vogel said generally moved buildings are ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. But, he added, there is a way to put moved buildings on “if they are of exceptional importance.”
He said he was pretty confident that the case could be made for the engineering value of the barn.

Sjostrand family members were on hand for the meeting.

Shari Sjostrand, the daughter-in-law of the barn’s former owner, noted it had been in their family for 15 years.

“I believe that this is a travesty,” she said.

“When you’re saying you’d like to find a home for this barn, it had a home, with our family.”

The county bought the land to put in a stormwater pond for the Pioneer Trail expansion. As Vogel mentioned, the county is constricted as to where it can put the pond, by both airport and park property.
The Pioneer Trail construction has been delayed until 2009. If the oft-delayed project’s plans are not finished up by this fall, the project could be in danger of losing federal funding.

Ultimately, after the reuse study is complete by the end of July, it will be in the county’s hands as to what to do with the barn. But, the study does buy a short period of time to evaluate its options.

The city of Eden Prairie is conducting the study with Vogel, but will be reimbursed by the county.
Vogel noted that Minnesota Department of Transportation mandated the study when it came to the conclusion that the site could qualify for the National Register.

“What we did was we put the brakes on it enough so that the barn may continue to stand,” said Betsy Adams, chair of the Heritage Preservation Commission, about the reuse study.

According to Vogel, they’ll evaluate the option of moving the barn to the family’s other property, first by seeing if the route is even feasible.

The reuse study looks at two things: Will the barn be preserved and if that is sustainable.
Vogel said they will give the county and state a set of scenarios, along with ranking those scenarios based on if the barn is preserved and the solution is practical.

Among the reuse scenarios they will look at: keeping the barn where it’s at with the family, moving it to the family’s other farm or a possible use for a theater.

He said a decision will likely come sooner rather than later.

The next informational meeting will be held at the barn, 14150 Pioneer Trail, from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 15.