Xcel Energy announces plans for new service center to replace Rice Street facility

Xcel Energy announced on Friday that it plans to build a new service center in St. Paul’s Greater East Side neighborhood.

A statement from the company said Xcel Energy signed an agreement with the St. Paul Port Authority that will allow the company to build a service center better equipped for its customer base. The company’s prior service center was on Rice Street.

After a long search to find a property to replace the Rice Street Service Center, the Minneapolis-based company said it purchased a 20-acre property in The Heights, a new development on the site of the former Hillcrest Golf Course.

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

Xcel Energy said the Rice Street Service Center employs about 375 people who assist with distribution, natural gas and other functions. The new property in The Heights is about double the size of the former property and the company aims to deepen its connection to the east metro through the new facility.

The land sale should be finalized this summer, according to the statement from Xcel Energy. Demolition and preparation of the site are scheduled to begin in June, with construction slated to start in spring 2024. Xcel Energy said it anticipates the new facility will be open for business in late 2025.