Rasmussen College recently announced that it will relocate its Eden Prairie campus to Bloomington in order to avoid problems that will be caused by construction work being done on the interchange of Interstate 494 and Highway 169.

Rasmussen recently signed a lease with Ryan Companies, Inc., for 30,000 square feet of space at its Two MarketPointe-an office development located at 4400 West 78th Street in Bloomington.

The college, which is among the largest in the state based on students served, said that the move was prompted by problems that will be caused by the $125 million Interstate 494/Highway 169 interchange reconstruction project-which is scheduled to begin this month, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation Web site. Rasmussen said in a statement that the project “will make use of the existing Eden Prairie campus impracticable.”

The new campus will include state-of-the-art classroom laboratories, multimedia design labs, computer labs, and expanded space for student services and resources. It will offer both bachelor's and associate's degrees.

In addition to its new Bloomington campus, Rasmussen also has campuses in Blaine, Lake Elmo, Brooklyn Park, Eagan, Mankato, Moorhead, and St. Cloud.

“Two MarketPointe is an ideal location for our Bloomington campus,” said Rasmussen College President Kristi Waite. “It is easily accessible and affords ample externship and clinical training opportunities to our students. In an environmentally-friendly building with an abundance of daylight, it is a healthy indoor space in a convenient location with easy access to restaurants, coffee shops, and other service businesses and has ample parking. We feel our southwest metro students will thrive in this environment and appreciate the convenience it offers.”

With the addition of Rasmussen, occupancy of Two MarketPointe will be 72 percent. Ryan Companies-which designed and constructed the development-has done several other projects with Rasmussen, including a new campus build-to-suit for lease project in Blaine.

In addition, Ryan Companies and Rasmussen have worked together on a new campus build-to-suit for lease project in Pasco County, Florida; a corporate office tenant improvement project in the Chicago area; and the design of Rasmussen's offices at the Normandale Lake Office Park in Bloomington.

Rasmussen is one of the largest colleges in Minnesota based on enrollment, which totaled 4,840 for its Minnesota campuses in fall 2009.