Staff settling in at new Lake Elmo City Center

The grand opening won't happen until October, but the new $12.7 million Lake Elmo City Center is open for the public's business. A former office building that the city bought, renovated, and expanded, the center houses the fire department, council chambers, office space for Washington County Sheriff's Deputies and all city staff except public works.

City Administrator Kristina Handt said she was especially glad to move in: her office was a construction trailer while the city center project was underway.

Located at 3880 Laverne Av. N., the center sits across the street from the former Lake Elmo City Hall. Handt said the city will likely keep the old building for now, in case future expansion is needed.

Lake Elmo is often cited as the fastest growing city in the state: its population grew from some 8,069 residents in 2010 to 13,449 in 2022, according to census estimates. The city could top 21,000 people by 2040. In addition to the City Center, the city is finishing a $3 million expansion of its public works building, the "red barn" at 3445 Ideal Av. N., to add office space, a break room, locker room, and training room. The project should be done this fall, said Handt. The $15.7 million renovations were paid for with bonds issued in 2021.

The city will sell off its former Fire Station No. 1 at 3510 Laverne Av. N., along with a former parks building adjacent to the fire station, said Handt. Fire Station No. 2 at 4259 Jamaca Av. N. became a public works building.

Now that the new Fire Department has been built, Handt said city staff next week will ask the council for approval to hire four more full-time firefighters, enough to double the staff to eight, including a chief and assistant chief. The extra employees will allow the department to be staffed around the clock rather than have on-call firefighters rush in from their homes. The change is expected to sharply reduce response times.