Xcel Energy is the first organization to commit to building at The Heights. The facility will include a new Saint Paul service center and allow Excel to better meet customers’ needs, modernize employee experiences, and support a clean energy strategy.

“We are thrilled to welcome Xcel Energy to The Heights,” said Todd Hurley, president of the St. Paul Port Authority. “Xcel’s commitment to sustainability, combined with providing quality jobs and tax base, aligns perfectly with the Saint Paul Port Authority’s mission. This a big win for the City of Saint Paul and its Greater Eastside Community.”

XCEL AT THE HEIGHTS PRESS RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS (April 21, 2023) — Xcel Energy has signed an agreement with the Saint Paul Port Authority to build a new service center in northeast St. Paul that will allow the company to meet the needs of its customers and employees for many years to come.

The 20-acre property is in The Heights, a new development on the site of the former Hillcrest Golf Course. The purchase agreement follows an extensive search for a larger site to replace the Rice Street Service Center, which has helped Xcel Energy serve its customers reliably for a century but does not meet the company’s future operational needs.

“We are strongly committed to the St. Paul community and excited to be the first business and anchor tenant announced for The Heights,” said John Marshall, regional vice president of Xcel Energy, about the mixed-use development that will include housing, light industrial and a city park.

The new service center site will be about twice the size of the current property, allowing Xcel Energy to build a facility that modernizes the employee experience and meets customers’ needs into the future. The Rice Street Service Center has about 375 employees who support natural gas, distribution operations, and other functions.

The new facility will include a training center that will deepen the company’s connection to the East Metro community and create a jobs pipeline for skilled labor. The project will reflect Xcel Energy’s priority to lead the clean energy future. It will use energy-efficient construction and will include space for charging stations that support the company’s plans to transition its entire fleet to electric vehicles by 2030.

The land sale will likely become final this summer. Demolition and preparation of the site is set to begin in June, with construction expected to start in spring 2024. Xcel Energy anticipates the new facility will open in late 2025. The company is working with the City of St. Paul on plans for the current site of the Rice Street Service Center.