Hot Property: Prestige Preschool Academy in Eagan

Address: 4150 Knob Dr., Eagan

Type: Educational

Size: 10,400 square feet

Developer: Shingobee Builders

Architect: Cuningham Group

Details: A controversial proposal to build a new day care on a long-vacant lot near a busy intersection in Eagan is moving ahead.

The 1.4-acre lot on the northwest corner of Pilot Knob and Diffley roads, owned by the O'Halloran & Murphy funeral home, has been undeveloped since the Knob Hill Professional Park area was platted in the 1980s.

Though originally envisioned for office uses, a 2002 proposal for a two-story office building was rejected by city officials as too large. Similarly, Shingobee Builders' first attempt last year to develop a building for the California-based Prestige Preschool Academy day care chain was rejected as inconsistent with the parcel's "planned unit development" zoning.

The City Council later agreed to rezone the lot to a "limited business" designation, which allows for day-care facilities as a conditional use. Shingobee returned this summer with updated plans calling for a 10,400-square-foot structure featuring a "quasi-residential" design, brick-and-siding exterior and a pitched roof.

Neighbors living along Knob Drive objected to the plans, claiming the day care would increase traffic and create unsafe conditions. But after initially voicing reservations, the Eagan City Council voted unanimously in July to allow a permit for the Prestige day care, the chain's fifth location in the Twin Cities.