EDSR INFORMATION 06-09-1997 INFORMATION
Business in the SPECIAL
•
FOCUS
Money makers _ No
h est
Pei personal income for five _
no metro-area counties in t . Maple Grove will one
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.. day be the site ofa
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mom - '.......—,...—.4.....,......... ik=, - t . Pr' .4- regional mall,says Al
a Madsen,a city official.
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'Y May 16, 1997 CityBusiness Page 39
a 07 =V' 111 in- OHN NOLTNER
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Source:Bureau orEeonomk Anatystt o e r r$. �y >c- s. . ' i
Growth track 0 iii M F _ ,,,,,_...„. ,.,, ,, :,,,,_„:,: _%4.4,rct,i0
Population estimates and projection! ' ' p •.x� "i ° k<:
for counties that are all or partially in , -' ' t ,a ' _ " �.�,;;o •
e
tt 4111°Terf
the northwest suburban region ,, ,- - •'.'� *1 ;' ". } °
north'west 1 x� �'..{'.'� s$ ,... � ss r ,
1990__._.._-. 199i `e l':2000 t s, 't ,......,,....„....„...,..„4,,,.,..., d ' .., ..,...„...4„,,,.......,.,....,....„‘� '�; .dt �1
estimate y� prolecvon 't, �*z`K s ..� �t ` ��' t,p � �A. w k'X
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_Anoka- ' e ,, r .ir
243 272,636 287,190 1 �, &4 a>� i (- ` 1 *.T
t . hid -5j�� n.o 6 4,`c e�..- +_
. .--_ 1,063.631Hennep ' u4 Projects spur
.-••• ��.t ,-t. ry IWe�P v -ir r .t. s .
1032,431 1,063 631 1109,820 , y i :. ••••,4.-..:0,-1...W..,..:
% s, /it. � r .r .,.
-�sant� development ,� � / i',14*,,,,,,„," 4
25 921 28,644 27,470 " 3 - Q ' r # 44f
_ Sherburne ti447.14;l ;
REGION our end of the world in terms of our ability to _
compete for economic development and
• from page 39 jobs,"said Joseph Strauss, executive director
of the North Metro Mayors Association.
54,568 households and 94,431 jobs. Major Target projects include improvements to
corporations located here include General Highway 100 from Highway 55 all the way
Mills Inc.,Graco Inc.,Tennant Co.and Grow through Brooklyn Center. That project is
Biz International Inc. in Golden Valley. expected to materialize within the next five
Fridley is home to Medtronic Inc. and The years. "That's a big success for Brooklyn
Rottlund Co. Inc., while New Hope is the Center,Robbinsdale,Crystal,New Hope and
headquarters for Navarre Corp. Golden Valley,"Strauss said.
Although some new development is occur- The expansion of Highway 610, also
ring,activity in this older region is being dri- called the Northern Crosstown,is another big
yen largely by redevelopment projects.In the project that will have a major impact on the
Valley Square Redevelopment Area,, for northwestern infrastructure. Highway 610
example, an 8-acre site located at the corner will connect Brooklyn Park to Maple Grove
of Highway. 55 and Wisconsin Avenue,devel- and will parallel the Highway 62 Crosstown
opers are proposing a 120,000-square-foot in the south metro.
office space.
Golden Valley was ranked among the top Outer-ring areas going`gangbusters'
25 cities in the metro area for It's not as easy to define where the bound-
commercial/industrial permits granted in aries of the outer ring suburbs end,but some
1995 with$7 million.Fridley is another active of the cities in this area include Corcoran,
first-tier suburb with 1995 permits valued at Rockford, Greenfield, Hassen, Rogers,
$12.2 million,according to the Met Council. Hanover,Champlin,Dayton,Anoka,Ramsey,
The bulk of the northwest metro's new res- Andover,Burns,Oak Grove,Fast Bethel and
idential and commercial development is Ham Lake. Both residential and commercial _
occurring in the middle-ring suburbs. Cities expansion is gradually permeating these rural
include Maple Grove,Brooklyn Park,Osseo, outer-ring communities. Major corporations
Coon Rapids and Blaine.These communities located here include First Team Sports Inc.in
• are home to 208,966 people, 72,723 house- Anoka,and Ultra Pac Inc.of Rogers.
holds and 64,284 jobs. Residential development here is on the
Many of these cities ranked among the top rise, but home values vary. Among the most
20 communities in the metro area for single- active outer-ring suburbs for new residential
family home-building permits in 1996. development are Andover with 272 new per-
Plymouth reported 441; Brooklyn Park,433; mits in 1996 and Ramsey with 227.
Maple Grove, 356; Blaine, 263; and Coon Residential permit values range across the
Rapids, 243. The average value of a new board from an average of$98,225 in Ramsey
home ranged from $109,689 in Blaine to to the 21 permits in Corcoran that averaged
$84,720 in Coon Rapids.Top ranking middle- $279,517.Top ranking outer-ring suburbs for
ring suburbs for new commercial/industrial commercial/industrial permit values issued in
permits in 1995 included Coon Rapids at$34 1995 include Anoka with $13 million and
million, Plymouth at $18.4 million, Maple Champlin with$9.2 million.
Grove at$16.5 million and Brooklyn Park at In many.cases,outer-ring cities are under-
$13.3 million,according to the Met Council. going a transformation. Established rural
Plymouth hosts a variety of major corpo- communities such as Buffalo, Elk River and
rations including Polaris Industries Inc., Zimmerman are being viewed by many as
Minntech Corp., Grand Casinos Inc., Miles new Twin Cities"suburbs."Many of the cities
Homes Inc., Norstan Inc., In Home Health are capitalizing on the northwest expansion to
Inc. and Braun's Fashions Corp.Other major attract new business.
employers include Computer Network "We're all really aware of the fact that
Technology Corp. in Maple Grove, and industry is needed for the tax base,"said Judie
Damark International and Network Systems Rose,director of the Economic Development
Corp.in Brooklyn Park. Partnership of Wright County.
Plymouth has been very active in recent Residential growth is going"gangbusters"
years, and much of its land has already been in Sherburne County,partly because it is out-
developed. Maple Grove also is seeing side the Met Council's seven-county region,
increased development activity with only and there are fewer barriers for developers,
about one-half of the city developed. Growth said Michael Darger, economic development
• that started out as residential is now shifting to coordinator of Sherburne Co. 'We certainly
commercial and industrial.One new area the are the fastest-growing county in residential
city has targeted for new development is a growth in the state,"Darger said.
2,000-acre former gravel pit. Sherburne County reported 974 single-
Although Brooklyn Park is an older com- family permits in 1996 with an average value
munity,it still has one-third of its land yet to of $97,389. And along with the residential
develop. "The city at this point is taking a growth comes increased efforts to attract new
very close look at what kind of mix of hous- business to the area.
ing they want in the city as a total,while they The big economic development issues are
still have one-third of the land to make land, people and resources. The city of Elk
changes in the balance," said Marge River,for example,plans to add an additional
Friederichs, executive vice president of the•. 400 acres of industrial property, while Big
North Hennepin Chamber of Commerce. Lake is working to bring 60 acres of industri-
Economic development in Anoka County al land on-line along Highway 10. North of
has focused almost exclusively on attracting Elk River, Zimmerman also is working to
he emerging technology-based companies, expand its city land by annexing neighboring
said Roger Jensen, executive director of the land and expanding water and sewer services.
Anoka County Economic Development One obstacle for business growth in these
Partnership. The partnership capitati7ed on outer-ring communities is the squeeze on an
the fact that Medtronic was based in Fridley, already tight labor market. Businesses are
Ind the corporation was spinning off a lot of concerned that a lack of qualified applicants
-rew companies, Jensen said. One of the big will affect their ability to grow. One
successes has been the development of the Sherburne County solutionis to promote
Minnesota Medical Enterprise Park in Coon "school-to-work" programs to get students
Rapids. into available jobs,as well as educating busi-
A major focus for many of these commu- nesses on available resources. ■
uties is improving the transportation infra-
,tructure."Transportation obviously is key to
Northwest.
Metro
•
• • .
Roadect. m
moves.
•
•
area into the
fast lane
Investment to follow- Highway 610
• By Dave Price . "Highway 100 absolutely is our next big
Contributing writer priority in this area," said Tinldenberg, who
The northwest suburbs are primed for a also remains active with several regional
new round of robust growth over the next organizations that have been lobbying feder-
few years,thanks in large part to the planned al and state officials to bring more trans-
completion of a major new roadway portation funding into the northwest sub-
designed•to carry tens of thousands more urbs."I don't think you have to tell anybody
vehicles through the region every day. who's driven on that road between [inter-
Construction is slated to begin next states] 394 and 694 that something has to be
month on the first phase of Highway 610, done soon."
also called the North Crosstown,which will But few area communities have escaped
connect Coon Rapids and Blaine across the at least some traffic problems in recent
existing Highway 610 bridge over the years,and as more new development moves
Mississippi River into Brooklyn Park and out to the far corners of the metropolitan
Brooklyn Center.When complete,the $145 area the traditional commuting patterns
million project ultimately will extend west through the region are changing as well,said
into Maple Grove and add a new and much- Curt Larson,an economic development spe-
needed link between interstates 94 and 35W. cialist for the city of Blaine.
"Obviously;the [Highway] 610 trunk is More of the driving is from suburb to
going to spur a lot of industrial and com- suburb rather than to and from the central
mercial growth for us," said Scott Clark, cities, he observes, which in turn is forcing
deputy community development director in' city planners to grapple with growing con-
Brooklyn Park."It's a real opportunity for us gestion on secondary roads and streets orig-
to add to more balance in the city with a inally designed to handle far less traffic.
place for the traditional manufacturing, dis- So far, Larson said the escalating traffic
tribution and warehouse facilities while coupled with a relative lack of state and fed-
reservingthe new corridor for those higher- eral funding in the past for road repairs and
echelon industrial [properties] and campus- new construction has yet to adversely affect
type developments." development in the northwestern suburbs.
Officials in other cities along the project "We've been pretty busy here and expect
path likewise voiced high expectations that to stay that way for long time," he said.
the North Crosstown will usher in an "But when you look at how fast other areas
extended period of fresh building and job have grown after they built roads like the
growth. southern Crosstown [Highway 62], you can
"There's going to be a long round of sig- see the huge impact a new road can have. I
nificant private investment because of the just think this area probably would have
610 highway,"said El Tinklenberg,the divi- developed much more quickly if they had
sion manager for public services in Anoka built [Highway 610] 10 or 20 years ago."
County and the former mayor of Blaine.
"That's good because it's not only going to Bridging the gap
help the communities in the immediate area Longer term,several community officials
but it's eventually going to spread out said another bridge across the Mississippi
• throughout much of the region." between Anoka and the Highway 610 cross-
Tinklenberg said another benefit of the ing eventually will be needed to foster those
new Crosstown project has been that it has burgeoning economic ties between cities in
worked to promote a common identity the northwest suburbs.
across the northern and northwestern sub- Work on a new Mississippi River bridge
urbs that should work to aid future efforts to in Anoka should be completed by next sum-
improve the region's infrastructure. mer, said Robert Kirchner, the city's com-
munity development director. But he said
Congestion ahead that project is not expected to significantly
Still, no one was predicting that the new add to the overall capacity of the existing
Crosstown roadway would be a panacea, structures in the area to carry traffic across
and they said considerable work is needed the river and that a larger bridge will need to
on other major highways in the area to alle- be built.
viate ongoing traffic difficulties. "That's probably the most important
- The more 'persistent bottlenecks are infrastructure improvement that we could
along Highway 100 through Golden Valley, do,"he said. "Not having that bridge hasn't
Robbinsdale and points north and on really affected residential or commercial
Interstate 94/694 where the freeway narrows development around here too much because
from three lanes to two. we get a lot of our labor force traveling in
' Traffic also continues to swell on U.S from central Minnesota.Where I think that a
169 and U.S. 10,which runs on a northwest- new bridge will have the most benefit are in
to-southeast diagonal from the St. Cloud those communities to our south by helping
area through Elk River, Anoka and Coon maintain their accessibility to the rest of the
Rapids. metro area:' • ■
Business in the
Northwest •
0 metro
JOHN NOLTNER
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• •
Commercial . ro eco•
•are res a In cities
In northwest suburbs
Construction boom, city by city
By Martin Keller between the Cities and St. Cloud saw the
Contributing writer arrival of a Target store and Cub Foods off
As the road goes, so goes retail develop- Highway 169. A number of commercial
ment.The adage holds true in the northwest satellites including branch banks, fast-food
metro area,where development is shaped by franchises and auto-related retail have risen
such highly traversed routes as Interstate 94, up alongside the two stores, ranging from
Highway 65 and new connecting routes that. Radio Shack to Arby's and Chesapeake
will link Interstate 35W and I-94 and other Bagel Bakery. Add a 61,000-square-foot
0 highway sections in what many refer to as Menards store and a 60,000-square-foot Sax
the North Crosstown. Foods near Highway 169 on the east side of
. But roads alone aren't responsible for the the highway and the pieces help total rough-
boom-in commercial development there. ly$14 million in 1996 in retail development
Other factors such as demographic changes, that Steinman has seen since taking over the
the growth of industrial and manufacturing job just nine months ago.
sites and general community needs'for retail "Our commercial retail development was
properties,big and small,franchises or inde- stronger last year than our industrial,” he
pendents, all work together in forming the noted.
commercial landscape that winds its way Meanwhile queries from brand-name
from Elk River to Maple Grove, Brooklyn hotels from both the East and West coasts
Park and Brooklyn Ce'ter, Fridley and into have also crossed Steinman's desk. Also
Coon Rapids and Blain. pending is 60,000-square-foot Midwest
Sports Federation of the Twin Cities, a
Elk River sports complex for athletic training and tour-
A trailer park occupying 70 acres of land naments not unlike one built in Blaine in .
around.Elk River is clo$ing soon,freeing up 1985. The Federation has sent a letter of
another 70 acres of land zoned mostly for intent to city offices.
commercial purposes. According to Paul Today the driving elements of Elk River's
Steinman, director of economic develop- retail development rests largely withthe
ment in Elk River,the Closing is just anoth- community,retailers and the fact that "we
er sign of the times on the city's busy devel- don't have to deal with the Met Council"
opment agenda. Steinrxhan said that.Griffin over issues of planning and control,
Cos.of Minneapolis-is currently looking for Steinman said.The city's low tax base,jobs,
possible "big-box" anchor tenants fora and ample new housing starts coupled with
shopping district on the property in the the population's desire to have a full-service
Highway 10 and 169 quadrant. retail environment make it attractive to
Last year, the scenic little stop halfway retailers who see the potential,he adds.
•
S
Maple Grove Brooklyn Park
After years of talk about building a large Retail growth in Brooklyn Park over the
regional mall in Maple Grove with at least " past five years has been "tremendous,"
,two major developers on either a gravel- according to Scott Clark,deputy community
mining site or a large 100-acre tract of land development director. The area near West •
owned by the Osseo School District, talk Broadway Avenue and Brooklyn Boulevard
and gravel is all the city has to show for real- is anchored by three shopping centers with
ly large commercial projects. On the other tenants like Target, Cub Foods and First
hand,major street improvements along Elm Bank.
Creek Boulevard,lots of office development ."We've taken care of much of our retail
and increasing construction of single-family needs in that period," Clark said. "These
homes continue to draw brand retailers to days it's fairly slow.The additional room for
the area, according to Al Madsen, Maple .. growth — and what our residents say we
Grove city administrator. need now — are more traditional retail
"We'll see a regional shopping center stores like a coffee house, a Bruegger's
eventually,"Madsen said.Part of the imped- Bagel shop,movie theaters and a bookstore
iment to getting one built in Maple Grove is and free-standing sit-down restaurant?'
the simple fact that"not many regional malls Like its surrounding communities with
of 1 million to 1.5 million square feet are no more major development lots to offer,
being built anywhere anymore."It probably Brooklyn Park is re-examining its retail
doesn't help either that Northtown Mall and strengths and looking at ways it can reinvest
Brookdale Center are both within 15 miles in smaller neighborhood businesses in lieu
of the city. That said, the city seems to be of developing bigger properties.While Clark
experiencing a healthy infusion of new and others say the city has some specialized
restaurants along Elm Creek Boulevard,and commercial concerns such as building recre-
1-94(including Famous Dave's BBQ),along ational areas like a golf course, more study
• with new hotels as well as some larger stores is currently going into "the next generation
that are in the works. of retail,"including the development poten-
A new Hampton Inn opened last week,in tial along Highway 610.
an area near Elm Creek Boulevard and I-94•
that Madsen describes as "the downtown Fridley
center, for lack of a better word." A new Fridley has pretty much seen it all. So
103-unit Extended Stay America,catering to much of it in fact that it's down to 89 acres
business people in town for a few days, is of vacant industrial property and 33 acres
slated for the south end of town.• programmed for class 'A' corporate office
But the Target store, either a Superstore space and supportive commercial services.
or a Greatland building located at 95th Wal-Mart built a large-format store in the
Avenue and 1-94, seems to be the biggest early'90s,Home Depot followed in 1995 on
retail development these days,with 189,000 a 14-acre site and other commercial names
square feet in the offing."Target hasn't told such as Slumberland have helped round out
us yet what type store they're building yet, Fridley's retail climate.
or when it will open,but they're making site "The big news is a possible remodeling
improvements,"Madsen said. of the Holiday Foods"at University Avenue
and Interstate 694,said Barbara Dacy,corn-
Brooklyn Center munity development director.
Brookdale Center has long been the retail Dacy notes that the area is fully devel-
anchor in Brooklyn Center,a burg of 30,000 oped compared to Blaine or Eden Prairie.
residents. But Brookdale is emblematic of Fridley, like Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn
suburban retail locations where retail devel- Center, is focusing on remodeling and site
opment has already peaked and redevelop- improvements of existing retail areas. "Our
ment is the buzzword of the day. Many of goal is to find redevelopment opportunities
the leases for Brookdale's largest tenants that work, those that fit into neighborhoods
reportedly are up this year,fueling specula- and that can enhance our tax base,"she said.
tion that the mall may be in trouble if any
• decide to pull out. Coon Elapids
`I•haven't heard those rumors,but Isus- Coon Rapids, like Elk River and Blaine,
pect it's a bit of posturing on the part of the is enjoying a boom in retail development.In
tenants,"said Ron Warren,head of the city's addition to neighboring Northtown Mall in
planning and zoning department for the past Blaine with its myriad stores running the
23 years.Warren does say that the mall site gamut from SportMart to Michael's Crafts,a
is in need of state funds for a water diversion 360,000-square-foot shopping center devel-
upgrade. oped by Ryan Cos. called Riverdale
Right now the hot redevelopment areas Commons is scheduled to begin in the near
lie along 67th Avenue and Brooklyn future with stores like Target and Kohls,said
Boulevard, where a 70,000-square-foot Lee Starr, the community development
Rainbow Foods is under construction,with a director.
nearby Walgreen Drug Store and a "We're getting our share of midlevel
Hollywood Video. And a new 85-unit hotels these days, too," he noted, including
Country Inn & Suites, with a TGI Fridays Marriott, Carlson Country Suites and a
attached on its west side and room for Holiday Inn. And movie theaters: two pro-
another restaurant on its east wing, should jects with 28 screens are moving forward.
be open midsummer. "We've been under-screened for a long
Warren said the areas near 69th and 70th time,"said Starr.
avenues and Brooklyn Boulevard could also Add to the movies and coffee a 190,000-
use redevelopment, some of it tied to the square-foot community shopping center
needed road-widening improvement plans with a large grocery and drug store on the
now before Hennepin County officials.The city's east side,recently approved by the city
city currently has a preliminary agreement and about to be built by the Robert Muir Co.,
with a developer to build "neighborhood- and Coon Rapids,along with the others that
oriented businesses"at 69th Avenue,but big neighbor it,is poised to enter the next centu-
projects seem to be a thing of the past. ry in a relatively expansive mode. 111
Northwest
Metro •
•
Q &
Growing north-metro suburbs
see burgeoning development
In an effort to provide more insight into the northwest metro
area, we asked community development representatives from
three communities, Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids and Elk River,
to respond to surveys about their cities. Their responses follow
•
the northwest suburbs.
� ' Completion of the Brooklyn Boulevard
rk bmmunity t��pmentt Wectore
Redevelopment Plan efforts which was a
•
OW3-0tBrooklyntpitric, strengthening of the city's older commercial
area.
In 1997 miscellaneous developments
What is the city's population? will occur,including the construction of a
61,000 Sleep Inn hotel,and multi-tenant buildings
constructed throughout the city by such
What are the major local employers? companies as Welsh Cos.,Ackerberg Group
Damark,200 employees;Network and Ryan Construction Cos.
Systems,500 employees;Siemens,404
employees;County Seat,358 employees; How long do you think it will take your
Caterpillar Paving Products,350 employ- area to be fully developed?
ees;Meyers Printing,300 employees; 20 years
Avecor Cardiovascular,200 employees
• What's on your community's wish list in
Which industries drive the local econo- terms of developments or infrastructure
my? investment by the state?
The city has a strong balance between Economic assistance along the T.H. 610
retail commercial,a diversified manufactur- corridor to ensure the highest and best
ing base(emphasizing printing,packaging, _ industrial and commercial use;continuation
distributing and recent medical facilities) of efforts to maintain a pro-business stance;
and education—this includes the public a proactive position to complete the last leg
school systems,community college and a of T.H.610 from T.H. 169 westerly through
vocational institute. Maple Grove to I-94;partnering with the
state,with the North Metro Mayor's
What major developments have been Association to achieve sub-regional/region-
completed recently or are pending in al objectives.
your area?
The city has recently opened 190 acres
of land for development as part of an
• �Economic Development Tax Increment ��n�Ci -" elapt����ir���
Financing District.Utilities are being
extended into this area in Juneand develop- ity of CO s
ment will start late in 1997. -' = % =y% �� •
As part of this new Economic •
Development Tax Increment Financing What is the city's population?
District,Opus Corp.has optioned for 50 59,688 (most recent Metropolitan
acres and has completed a Master Council estimate for April 1, 1995)
Development Agreement with the city's
Economic Development Authority. What are the major local employers?
Ryan Construction Cos.is in the process Allina Mercy Medical Center;
of completing the development of 90 acres Honeywell,Commercial Flight Systems;
of property in the Northland Industrial Park. Coon Rapids Medical Center;Anoka
Major tenants to date have included Avecor Ramsey Community College;Vmcent
Cardiovascular,Recovering Engineering, Metal Goods;John Roberts Co.;RMS Co.;
Stein Industries,Dealers Manufacturing and Ramsey Technology;Modern Tool; Green
two multi-tenant buildings. Bay Packaging;Plastics Inc.
In June T.H.610 will start construction
from T.H.252 westerly to T.H. 169.When Which industries drive the local econo-
ultimately completed this highway system my?
will serve as a major thoroughfare connect- Health care,education,printing,aero-
ing Interstate 35 to Interstate 94.This high- space,wood products,plastics,metals dis-
way will serve as a catalyst for continuing tribution and fabrication,precision machin-
industrial development and will greatly ing
strengthen the overall economic position of _ '
ELK RIVER
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BROOKLYN PARKiligf
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What major developments have been Which industries drive the local econo-
completed recently or are pending in my?
your area? • The manufacturing industry is the signif-
Completed:Allina Heart Center(48,000 icant driver of Elk River's local economy.
square feet),Comfort Inn(56 suites),City Twenty core manufacturers provide
of Coon Rapids City Center(76,000 square employment for about 1,500 people at an
III feet),Green Bay Packaging(204,900 average pay range of$12 to$17 per hour.
square.feet),Marriott-Fairfield Inn(59
suites),Home Depot(104,000 square feet), What major developments have been
HOM Furniture(175,000 square feet),John completed recently or are pending in
Roberts Printing Addition(65,000 square your area?
feet),Lifetime Fitness(108,000 square A$1 million, 17,000-square-foot indus-
feet),Northtown Village shopping center trial facility constructed for LeFebvre Cos.
(180,000 square feet),Possis Medical in Rail 10 Industrial Park;construction of a
(50,000 square feet),Vincent Metal Goods 90,000-square-foot single-use retail facility;
(278,000 square feet),YMCA(68,000 completion of Elk Park Center commercial
square feet) complex including Cub Foods and Target
Under construction:Commers Printing for a total of 325,000 additional square feet
(29,500 square feet),ECM Publishing of retail space;recently completed 60,000-
(22,000 square feet),Holiday Inn Express square-foot construction of Sax Food and
(73 suites),Outback Steakhouse Drug and 161,000-square-foot Menards;
Approved:Anheuser-Busch distribution construction of a 45,000-square-foot distrib-
center(145,800 square feet),Cineplex ution/warehouse facility for expansion of an
Odeon Theaters(12 screens),Kerasotes existing business.
Theaters(16 screens),Frito-Lay Pending/future development includes: a
Distribution Center(48,000 square feet), 15,000-square-foot expansion of an existing
Menards expansion(44,500 square feet) business in the Elk River Industrial Park;a
Riverdale Commons shopping center 70-acre commercial/industrial development
(198,000 square feet),Quality Sterilization at the corner of Highway 169 and School
Services(27,800 square feet) ' Street;a 280-acre residential development
in east Elk River—homes at an average
How long do you think it will take Coon price of approximately$150,000-$300,000;
Rapids to be fully developed? construction of 30,000-square-foot multi-
It is anticipated the city will be fully tenant industrial facility;construction of a
developed by 2010. 60,000-square-foot facility for Midwest
illSports Federation;40,000-square-foot
What's on your community's wish list in hotel/restaurant project(future).
terms of development or infrastructure
investment by the state? How long do you think it will take your
Improvements to Highway 10,north of area to be fully developed?
the Highway 10 improvements currently There is enough vacant land available to
under construction take Elk River well beyond its current 20-
year comprehensive plan.
' ;;`)--r' "` ' `t r tj` What is on your community's wish list in
-Z `: : terms of developments or infrastructure
- i z i -„ , investment by the state?
--':-='-'-‘"--'4'-'-' F Elk River has a significant need to con-
struct a new transportation/utilities corridor
in the eastern portion of our city.This trans-
What is the city's population? - portation corridor will provide opportunities
The city of Elk River's population at the for approximately 200 to 300 additional
end of 1996 was approximately 15,000. acres of industrially zoned property.
Funding of this new transportation corridor
What are the major local employers? is a high priority in order to meet Elk
Major local employers include the fol- River's future needs for providing addition-
lowing:United Power Association;425 al jobs for its residents and a diversified tax
employees;Tescom Corp., 331 employees; base.
Guardian Angels of Elk River,236 employ- Funding of trunk sewer and water utili-
ees;Target, 202 employees;Cub Foods, ties along this corridor is another instance
200 employees;Alltool Manufacturing, 180 where the city may look to the state of
employees. Minnesota to provide a source of funds.
INFORMATION
• juti - 4 isai
May 30, 1997
Dear Youth Advocate:
Please plan to attend the next meeting regarding the "Youth Initiatives" that is scheduled for
Thursday June 12, 1997 - 7:00 pm, Elk River City Hall.
The following highlights some recent action:
The Elk River Park and Recreation Commission has committed to working with several advocates
of a skatepark in a partnership which will make this endeavor more feasible. The youth advocates
have organized and have formally incorporated as a non-profit association and are planning to then
manage a skatepark facility.
A web site has been developed and is up and running. Check it out at: www.elkriver-mn.com
A marketing plan has been developed and a grant sought to help implement awareness of this web
site and how individuals, families, youth, etc. can utilize it with planning their leisure and or promoting
events that are positive youth leisure opportunities.
Thanks to the effort of students Jared Lee and Scott Overbye, a "student to student " mentoring
program is being developed and proposed to the school board for implementation as an elective
program as part of their curriculum.
We will also hear various reports and updates as to the above, as well as hear a presentation on the
Search Institutes Developmental Assets and gain insight as to how everyone can play a significant
role in supporting our communities youth.
Please invite anyone that you wish to join us with this process and commitment to better serve youth.
Sincerely,
0,4„L2it-e-6)
Pam Black Jeff Asf I Charlie Blesener