New Hotel Planned for Minnetonka, Near Golden Valley

A new Hampton Inn and Suites, slated to open in summer 2013, could be built just on the other side of the Golden Valley border with Minnetonka.

The proposed hotel, at 10600 Wayzata Blvd., would be built where the Stuart Anderson Cattle Company restaurant once stood, near Interstate 394 and State Highway 169.

Developers hope to break ground in the spring of 2012 and expect construction to take about a year. 

“It’s a great neighborhood to be in,” said Tom Torgenson, the project’s developer, referencing the proximity to the corporate headquarters of  and Syngenta.

Torgenson estimates the project will cost more than $10 million. According to the project's architect, John Hafner, the five-story hotel will feature an indoor pool, a small conference facility, fitness center, a large lobby with breakfast buffet area and about 100 guest rooms. It would have 15 fulltime employees.

“Bottom line, it’s a benefit to the city,” Minnetonka Community Development Director Julie Wischnack says of the proposed hotel.

The land has been unused since 2004, when the Stuart Anderson Cattle Company restaurant closed. In 2008, another restaurant chain, Eddie Merlot’s, showed interest in the site but backed away. The city tore down the Stuart Anderson Cattle Company restaurant building in December 2009, leaving the land vacant. 

“It was right at the economic downturn. Nobody was investing in restaurants at that time,” Wischnack said.

Property and city developers expect this hotel project to reach completion. Torgenson Properties is applying for three grants—one from Hennepin County and two from the State of Minnesota—to pay for environmental cleanup before breaking ground. The land, old wetlands, requires soil correction that requires the release of underlying methane gas, Wischnack said. Grants would cover up to 85 percent of the estimated $1 million for cleanup.

Torgenson Properties, based in Willmar, develops, builds and manages 28 hotels and nine restaurants throughout Minnesota and Florida.