(PRWEB) March 22, 2006 -- The Minnesota School of Business is planning two new schools in high-visibility locations in Blaine and Woodbury.
“ The growth in those areas has been amazing ”
In Blaine, the new school could be open as soon as January. The Woodbury school -- part of a complex including a restaurant and two office buildings -- would replace a smaller college building in Oakdale.
"The growth in those areas has been amazing," said John Myhre, development manager for the Minnesota School of Business. The new schools would bring the number of schools in the metro area to six, plus schools in St. Cloud and Rochester.
In Blaine, Minnesota School of Business plans to build a 46,000-square-foot building on 4½ acres just southwest of Interstate 35W and Lexington Avenue. It would have room for about 850 students.
Myhre said Blaine city officials encouraged development of a three-story building because they wanted an impressive structure visible from the freeway. "They said they'd like to see a classy office building," Myhre said.
The Woodbury plan is more ambitious. On a 21-acre site, the school plans to open a 65,000-square-foot school and two unrelated office buildings. Plans include a restaurant, but the tenant hasn't been chosen yet.
After completion of the Woodbury school, the Richfield-based company will move its offices to the third floor of the new school building.
The development will be west of The Home Depot in Tamarack Village Shopping Center, just southwest of Interstate 94 and Radio Drive.
The 65,000-square-foot building will have about 1,000 students, all transferred from the Oakdale campus. It will be open in September 2007.
Myhre said the school leases the Oakdale building and didn't know what it might be used for in the future.
Rather than build a single, centralized campus at which students live, Myhre said, Minnesota School of Business prefers suburban locations that are a short commute from students' homes.
"Our strategy is to have students come from a seven- to 10-mile radius," Myhre said. "The convenience of the commute is critical for us. It is all about proximity to rooftops."
In addition to the Oakdale school that will be replaced, Minnesota School of Business has schools in Richfield, Plymouth, Brooklyn Center and Shakopee.
