Amazon buys portion of Thomson Reuters site

Online retail giant Amazon acquired a significant chunk of the former Thomson Reuters campus in Eagan this week, according to documents filed with the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

The former campus, which was vacated more than two years ago, is in the process of being redeveloped by Ryan Cos. to include light industrial uses, residential units and a towering logistics building known as “Project Nova.”

The Feb. 12 sale includes three parcels totaling 95 acres near Dodd Road and Opperman Drive that were purchased for more than $52 million, according to an electronic certificate of real estate value.

Part of Amazon’s purchase, the future Project Nova site piqued interest that the online retailer could eventually be involved with building plans including color swatches that linked to a label called “Amazon Prime Blue,” as reported by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Project Nova will convert what was a multi-story north industrial office building with a 350,000-square-foot footprint to an industrial warehouse and logistics building with a 650,000-square-foot footprint that could stand 120 feet tall.

The Eagan City Council voted to rezone the site at 610 Opperman Drive from major office to include light industrial uses and a mix of residential units to align with Ryan Companies’ redevelopment plans in November.

“Plans for this piece of property are in the very early stages,” a spokesperson for Amazon told the Pioneer Press in an email. Ryan Cos. declined to comment on the sale.

— Mars King

State GOP pursuing recall of House DFLers

The Republican Party of Minnesota announced Friday that it has filed its first round of petitions for House Democrats to Secretary of State Steve Simon.

In a news release, the party said petitions for recall of eight Democrat House members — Reps. Brion Curran, Kristin Bahner, Lucy Rehm, Julie Greene, Matt Norris, Brad Tabke, Dan Wolgamott, Steve Elkins and Speaker Emeritus Melissa Hortman — have been submitted to Simon’s office for approval.

Signature gathering is underway in 40 other districts, the party said in the release, and recall petitions are anticipated for all 66 Democratic House seats.

The recall push comes after a House power struggle in which Democrats boycotted the House for a month to prevent a quorum of 68 members needed for the chamber to operate.

When the House came to a power-sharing agreement last week, Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, said that the recall petitions would fail like they have in the past.

— Forum News Service