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2015-05-01 E-Biz1 Crystal CouillardFrom:Joanna FooteSent:Wednesday, July 15, 2015 4:18 PMTo:Crystal CouillardSubject:FW: Eagan E-Biz - 2nd Qtr. 2015From: City of Eagan [mailto:webmaster@cityofeagan.com] Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2015 4:18 PM To: Joanna Foote Subject: Eagan E-Biz - 2nd Qtr. 2015May 2015 Publishing timely features, news and information relevant to localbusinesses and business leaders. Creative Water Project in the Works In a time when dwindling water supplies elsewhere are making the front page, Eagan Public Works staff members are mentoring University of Minnesota civil engineering students on an innovative water project that may help local businesses, residents and the environment. Collaborating with the Metropolitan Council and Barr Engineering, the team is developing a way to use dewatering (one million gallons of groundwater daily) from the Seneca wastewater treatment facility for irrigation and fire protection, rather than simply discharge it into the Minnesota River. If successful, this project could offset groundwater demands by high-volume, nonpotable users; make the water supply more sustainable; and reduce long-term costs. Industrial and office users near Highway 13 are likely partners. “Summer irrigation demands can have a significant impact on the public water-supply system and long-term effects on the aquifer [groundwater] levels,” says Russ Matthys, director of Public Works. He explains that the City staff is pursuing opportunities to reduce these effects, including mentoring the students, and has been encouraged to think creatively by peers at Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. “The City Council and staff are excited about the potential benefit to the future groundwater supplies for Eagan and our neighboring communities.” Photo: University of Minnesota students Jared Sipe, Erin Kayser, Raymond Theiler and Michael Zenker are working with Eagan Public Works and Barr Engineering staffs on an innovative water project to offset groundwater demands. Check Out Eagan’s New Hotels Not since 2002 has Eagan welcomed a new hotel. But hotel news has been twofold this spring. First, the City Council approved Morrissey Hospitality’s planned development for a Home2 Suites hotel in the Cedar Grove Redevelopment Area; it is scheduled to open in 2016. The 119-room, extended-stay hotel will include high-end suite accommodations, a swimming pool and a combination laundry- Second, Holiday Inn Express & Suites broke ground at the site of the former Al Baker’s Restaurant in late April. The 93-room hotel will include 19 suites, a lobby great room and an indoor pool, among other features. The hotel, scheduled to open in June 2016, will be adjacent to the Best Western Plus Dakota Ridge; Wheelhouse Capital is the developer and manager of both hotels. DataBank Clients to Benefit Due to Tax Rebates DataBank has qualified for Minnesota’s data center tax-incentive program. That means its clients who purchase equipment and utilities for deployment in the company’s new 90,000-square-foot data center in Eagan will receive tax rebates. “This incentive program offers a material financial advantage to DataBank clients,” says Kevin Ooley, CFO and EVP for DataBank, which opens its Eagan location in late May. Savings on servers, storage devices and networking gear “can be substantial.” This is already a banner year for DataBank: The Economic Development Association of Minnesota has recognized the company as the 2015 Business Recruitment Project of the Year. In addition, DataBank received a Progress Minnesota Award from Finance & Commerce in April, and was awarded the Uptime Institute’s Tier III Certification for its Eagan building design. Deconstructing, Not Demolishing, Lockheed Martin