SouthWest Station
![On an overcast day, two cranes and several other construction vehicles work in a mostly empty worksite between some one-story buildings, a road, and a lake.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/19_Southwest_Station_in_Eden_Prairie.jpg/220px-19_Southwest_Station_in_Eden_Prairie.jpg)
Modeled after Burnsville Station, SouthWest station was one of several suburban park and ride facilities opened in the Twin Cities in the late 1990s. When it originally opened in 1998, it had 500 parking spaces and 15 acres of surrounding land available for housing and commercial development. The station cost $5 million which was twice the cost of Burnsville Station. Construction began on a 3 level parking ramp in November 2001 that could accommodate 700 vehicles. The new parking ramp cost $9.7 million and was designed to accommodate a 4th level with additional spaces. Land surrounding the station had begun to be sold for restaurants, apartments, and townhouses. By 2006 parking on the site had expanded to 900 spaces on 5 levels but was still often full. At the time, SouthWest Station had 230 units of housing.