6.1 EDSR 06-15-2015
Request for Action
To Item Number
Economic Development Authority 6.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General BusinessJune 15, 2015Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist
Item Description Reviewed by
Marketing Update Amanda Othoudt, EDD
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Item presented for information.
Background/Discussion
One of the 2015 performance measures set by the EDA is to connect with at least three data centers.
Over the course of 2015 staff has attended several trade shows in partnership with Sherburne County and
the Positively Minnesota Marketing Program (PMMP) through DEED.
2015 Trade Shows:
The Real Estate Journal Data Center conference in January was held in Chicago and was attended by real
estate developers around the country. Staff met with representatives from Jones Lang LaSalle and Parallel
Technologies. The relationship with Jones Lang LaSalle turned into a site visit to the county’s data center
site which also included representatives from Involta, a co-location data center. The site visit was an
opportunity to promote the Elk River, walk the potential data center site and answer questions from both
organizations. The visit also included representatives from Sherburne County, ERMU, and Economic
Development.
In March, staff attended a data center event hosted by Parallel Technologies. The event was attended by
over 30 people from all over the state. Staff met several people, one of them being a representative from
Welsh Construction. A follow-up to Welsh led to a site visit which was attended again, by representatives
from Sherburne County, ERMU, Economic Development, and a representative from Colliers
International who specializes in data centers.
In April, the annual Data Center World event was held in Las Vegas. Over 2,000 people from all over the
world were in attendance. The city, again, partnered with the county and PMMP. This event also attracted
several new organizations to the Minnesota delegation, including: Michaud Cooley, Xcel Energy, Iron
Gate, ViaWest, and the cities of Morehead and Chaska. The event created an opportunity to reconnect
with the representatives from Involta. The delegation attended networking events and toured the ViaWest
facility.
In May, staff attended the Information Management Network (IMN) Data Center Conference in New
York, again attended by people from all over the world. Staff reconnected with representatives from
Colliers International and built relationships with Telex, DLR Group, Data Bank, and Brunz-Key. The
event was an opportunity to learn first-hand on new trends impacting site selector decisions and a chance
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to promote the city to various organizations around the country. Staff also toured the DataGryd data
center located in the heart of mid-town Manhattan, and met with the real estate developer marketing the
data center site. Over 350 people attended the event which brought major exposure to city of Elk River.
With all the trade shows, follow-up is crucial – after each event staff sends out personal notes and
encloses one of our gun metal pens/stylus combo. Staff also completes a follow-up phone call within a
month of the event.
Financial Impact
Advertising dollars was included in the 2015 budget.
Attachments
None
N:\Departments\Community Development\Economic Development\EDA\Administrative\Agenda\EDA Agenda Packets\2015\6-15-2015\6.1 sr
Marketing Update.docx