6.5 EDSR 01-19-2016 tti Request for Action
River
To Item Number
Economic Development Authority 6.5
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business January 19, 2016 Amanda Othoudt, EDD
Item Description Reviewed by
Reports of Officers and Subcommittees and Staff Cal Portner, City Administrator
End-of-year Report Reviewed by
Action Requested
N/A
Background/Discussion
As per EDA Bylaws,it is suggested that the Economic Development Authority receive the report from
officers and subcommittees. An end-of-year staff report will also be provided.The Annual End-of-Year
Report lists all projects completed and on-going.That report is attached. (2015 Annual End-of-Year
Report). Staff will review the report with the EDA at the Annual Meeting.
Financial Impact
N/A
Attachments
• 2015 Annual End-of-year Report
11MEIE1 11
NATUR€
Economic Development
Year-end Activity Summary 2015
Why Elk River?
Looking back at 2015, the Economic Development Division can
Elk River has developed and grown a
proudly pause, and take a collective breath, recognizing the
reputation as the light industrial hub of
numerous development projects brought to fruition.
the Northwest metro.
The local economy saw an upswing in single family and
Businesses have taken notice of our
commercial and industrial permits which were the result of
skilled workforce, efficient
groundbreakings for Sportech, Inc., GATR Trucking, Inc., and
transportation access, pro-business
climate, and area schools that actively
collaborate with local companies to
Business Center. We also saw a number of facility expansions
meet their workforce needs.
including J&J Machine.
Elk River is dedicated to development
Private investment and reinvestment increased dramatically this
and you can count on us to work hard
past year with $2.3 million in public investment resulted in over
for you by:
$24.7million in private capital investment accounting for more
Assisting existing businesses with
than 161,700 square feet of new development.
their expansion and growth needs
Looking ahead, we continue to receive inquiries from various
Assisting companies with relocation
companies wanting to expand, relocate, or start new. Frequent
to Elk River
requests seek large lots with public utilities, creating a demand to
acquire more industrial land for development.
In 2016, we look forward to rolling out a new (fifth) Microloan
leaders and city staff
program to further target and assist specific business types and
Seeking creative combinations of
diversify our tax base.
city and state financing tools
I am happy to say the future of Elk River looks bright!
In 2015, the Elk River Economic
Amanda Othoudt
Development Authority was featured in
Economic Development Director
the Business Xpansion Journal in an article
aothoudt@ElkRiverMN.gov
outlining our most recent development
13065 Orono Parkway
projects. The periodical has a reach of
Elk River, MN 55330
75,000 print and digital subscribers.
763.635.1042
www.ElkRiver.MN.gov
Come and grow with us!
The city utilized Property Tax Abatement Sportech to help
Population
construct a 105,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility. Sportech
City of Elk River: 23,346
also received a Job Creation Fund award from the
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Demographics
Development in the amount of $175,000. Sportech, Inc. will
Median Age: 35.7
hire 72 new full-time jobs over the course of five years and
retaining over 204 jobs.
Homeownership: 80%
Median Household Income:
$74,772
Median Home Value: $206,300
In July, the city provided Morrell Trucking a Property Tax
Top Industries and Employment
Abatement to construct a 13,824 square foot facility
complete with a wash facility, light duty maintenance and
Healthcare - 4,489
office space. They also received a $200,000 Jobs Incentive
Retail Trade - 3,225
Microloan. With the new facility, they were able to retain 105
Manufacturing - 3,157
employees and create 13 new full-time positions.
Educational Services - 2,323
Accommodation/Food - 1,878
Construction - 1,771
Public Administration - 1,566
Transportation & Warehouse -
The city also assisted GATR Truck Center in the
999
development of a 42,912 square foot facility. GATR has
Administrative Support - 972
committed to creating eight full-time jobs in connection with
the development.
Unemployment rate
County - 4.2%
Minnesota - 3.9%
U.S. - 5.5%
J&J Machine continues to grow in their existing facility.
They began a 26,000 square foot expansion to their existing
facility earlier this year.
Distinctive Iron expanded their operations and relocated to
a 13,000 square foot facility. They have committed to
creating seven new full-time jobs over the next two years.
Working to Grow Our Local Economy
Business owners consider many factors when deciding where to locate or grow their companies. One reason many
economic development partners eager to assist getting projects off the ground. Elk River EDA is proud to be one
of those partners.
The Sportech team is able to bring vehicles into the
area for design work and pre-production fitment. The
Innovation Center has a designated work area for their
customers where they can set up their computers,
industry standard
spread out and easily collaborate with their design
team. Chris Carlson, CEO of Sportech, Inc. says
The Economic Development division provides a
variety of federal, state, regional, and local financing
coming to our facility to participate in the pre-
programs to meet the gap financing needs of new and
production development process, and we wanted to
growing businesses.
create a space where they would feel at home with
Sportech, Inc., is the most recent recipient of a
hopes that they'll want to return. We think we
$111,155 forgivable loan. They utilized the proceeds to
accomplished our goal as the feedback from our
construct a state-of-the-art Innovation Center. This
customers thus far has been overwhelmingly
unique area is specifically designed to enhance
creativity and promote collaboration within their new
product development group.
The Innovation Center is home to their new product
development group, a dynamic team of design
engineers and industrial designers. The area features an
open format with bullpen-style seating arrangements
where designers are able to easily interact on projects.
Custom lighting, some trendy technical styling cues,
and the assortment of cool power sports vehicles and
memorabilia on display makes for a fun place to work.
Economic Development Authority continues staking Elk Rivers business growth
987.
Square Foot of
Business Name Public Sector Jobs Created Private Investment Taxable Value
Building Added
Attracted
Investment
Added
Sportech, Inc. $1,288,589 72 $8,407,740 $216,383
GATR, Inc. $546,814 15 $13,249,495 $160,556 42,912
Morrell Trucking $321,609 8 $2,180,545 $35,311 13,824
Distinctive Iron $126,000 7 $630,000 - -
Envision Companies $111,155 4 $263,088 - -
TOTALS $2,394,167 106 $24,730,868 $411,250 161,736