7.4. EDSR 07-20-2020 Elk Request for Action
River
To Item Number
Economic Development Authori 7.4
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business 7.july20, 2020 Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist
Item Description Reviewed by
Strategic Plan Update Amanda Othoudt,ED Director
Reviewed by
Cal Portner, City Administrator
Action Requested
Item presented for informational purposes.
Background/Discussion
The EDA Strategic Plan is progressing in conjunction with the proposed timeline. Staff conducted a site
tour with Stantec on June 11, 2020, and staff participated in three focus groups facilitated by Stantec on
June 24, 2020. The three focus groups were made up of stakeholders,representing the real estate and
development community,downtown business community, and non-retail businesses.
Tom Leighton, Stantec's Project Leader provided the attached update.
Financial Impact
N/A
Attachments
■ Update from Tom Leighton
The Elk River Vision
A welcoming community with revolutionary and pirited resourcefulness,exceptional service,and community
engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity P 0 w E H E D 0 Y
ItAIAT_ IJR
Stantec VIII° IIII jje c t UIIIDd a t "'
Project Update to EDA,July 20,2020
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan/193805023
Focus Groups
The project team conducted three focus groups on the morning of June 24.
A Downtown Focus Group took place at 8:00 a.m. The following were key takeaways.
• Downtown Elk River may not be the center of commerce for the City, but it is the heart of Elk River.
Preserving the historic feel of downtown, while also attracting thoughtful redevelopment and retail
opportunities.
• Traffic flow and parking are main issues. Parking is not necessarily an issue of capacity, but rather
layout and functionality of existing parking.
• Re-orientation towards the river is a big opportunity (this could include reorienting existing
businesses, trails along river and more gathering space near the river)
• Improvements are needed to the historic downtown buildings and city incentives are desired (both
fagade improvement and structural improvements)
• Identified needs in downtown include: places to gather, grocery store, coffee shops, connection to
river
• Both support and caution were expressed concerning current redevelopment being proposed for
downtown area
A Development & Real Estate Focus Group took place at 9:30 a.m. The following were key takeaways.
• Assets for commercial/industrial development include workforce from Cities to the north and
transportation network that allows easy access in all directions—this will be improved further with 169
redefine project
• Other Cities near Elk River (Otsego, Big Lake and Becker) have been more aggressive about
attracting commercial/industrial development so businesses may choose to locate there instead.
• There are opportunities to the East (by Orono Lake) and North (gravel mine)
• From a retail development perspective, the traffic volume is a driver, as well as the quaint downtown.
Downsides include competition from Otsego, and consistent number of retail vacancies.
• 169 redefine project is a threat to retail in the short-term during construction, but ultimately will
improve access and is an opportunity for highway-oriented retail
• There is development interest in last-mile warehouse
• For multi-family/mixed use development, it is hard to make a development `pencil-out' without
incentives from the City.
• The City is still overcoming the stigma that it is hard to develop there - recent process improvements
have really helped.
• Not an ideal location for metro area focused businesses, but definitely a good location for multi-state
businesses or statewide businesses.
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July 20,2020
Project Update to EDA,July 20,2020
Page 2 of 3
A Manufacturing & Industry Focus Group took place at 11:00 a.m. The following were key takeaways.
• Elk River school district is a huge asset for manufacturing/industrial businesses because it provides a
workforce and opens up tech trades as a viable career option.
• Finding workforce is still challenging, and there is competition among businesses. Emotional
intelligence is also an issue with the younger workforce.
• Processes for licensing, permitting, business expansion, etc have been difficult for businesses to
navigate. There is a feeling that "it's about who you know" at the City.
• The lack of hotels and amenities is difficult for businesses entertaining higher profile clients and for
attracting larger events to the City.
• The Medical Device industry is established in the City and is most attractive to workforce as well
(parents and students).
• Many businesses choose to stay in Elk River because of the community, even when incentives
offered by other Cities may be more attractive.
• There is a need for affordable rental units for workforce
• Medical device industry might be saturated (they have a hard time finding and retaining a qualified
workforce). Food industry could be an alternative target industry.
Peer City Research
In consultation with Elk River staff, we've selected the following cities for the Peer City benchmarking
research.
• Forest Lake. One of the cities Elk River sometimes compares itself with. There are locational
similarities in their downtowns. They may have lessons to share from their Highway 61 Corridor
study. Finally, they are strong partners with the Washington County CDA.
• Chaska. Chaska is a fairly affluent city. It's a river city with a small walkable downtown. It has
significant industrial areas. Hazeltine Golf course is a major tourism draw, and contributes to
community pride. They have taken innovative actions relative to housing. Staff have been open about
talking about Chaska and actions they've taken over time.
• Oakdale. Oakdale has made successful use of special area studies and a proactive AUAR
(Alternative Urban Areawide Review)to set the stage for business development. They are very
experienced at leveraging city contributions to development projects to get developers to meet
community objectives. Tartan Crossings is an example of successfully redeveloping a blighted, way
underperforming mall with an absentee owner, into a thriving Hy-Vee store and senior facility. Staff
are very approachable.
Analysis
We are in the Analysis phase of the project, which includes business retention and industry cluster analysis.
Beyond that, we're trying to preserve bandwidth for a few topics that seem to have risen to the top in the EDA
Workshop and focus groups. Those are the following.
• Highway 169 impacts, including possible exploration of:
o Access &visibility for businesses
o Programmatic support for businesses in transition
o Image & character of highway/bridge infrastructure (Elk River branding)
o Wayfinding to downtown
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Project Update to EDA,July 20,2020
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• Industrial development pipeline, including:
o Land availability
o Sharpening message about Elk River
• Redevelopment, especially gravel mining area (extending utilities, how does it connect to 169), and
downtown/riverfront, including an emphasis on how to support new development while ensuring
adequate parking availability and not increasing congestion
• Tourism (youth recreation hub, hotel, events)
Calendar
Next engagement events are anticipated at the end of August and early September, including the second
EDA Workshop, City Council presentation and Public meeting.
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