8.1. EDSR 01-19-2021 City of
Elk �-- Request for Action
River
To Item Number
Economic Development Authori 8.1
Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by
General Business January 19, 2021 Colleen Eddy, Economic Development Specialist
Item Description Reviewed by
Strategic Plan Discussion Cal Portner, City Administrator
Reviewed by
Action Requested
Approve,by motion,the 2020 EDA Strategic Plan.
Background/Discussion
At their April 20, 2020, meeting, the EDA approved a contract with Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. to
proceed forward with the EDA Strategic Plan. Stantec has facilitated several discussions with staff, EDA
work sessions, community events, and peer city interviews.
At the December 21, 20205 EDA meeting, the commission reviewed and requested some revisions to the
draft Strategic Plan. Tonight,Tom Leighton,Project Manager at Stantec will present the final draft of the
Strategic Plan.
Financial Impact
N/A
Mission/Policy/Goal
The Strategic Plan will build upon the EDA's existing plans including the city's vision,Mississippi Connections
Plan, FAST Study, Comprehensive Plan, Parks and Recreation Plan, Capital Improvement Plan, along with any
other relevant studies that have set forth goals and objectives for economic growth and sustainability.
Attachments
■ EDA Strategic Plan
The Elk River Vision
A n elcoming community n ith revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional P U W E H E o s r
service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity /` UR
December 2020
EDA STRATEGIC PLAN
For Economic Development
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 2
Introduction 3
Vision and Goals 5
Elk River’s Economy 7
Goal #1 – Support Existing Businesses 13
Goal #2 – Attract New Businesses 16
Goal #3 – 169 Redefine 19
Goal #4 – COVID Impacts 21
Acknowledgements 23
Appendix: Summary of Research and 24
Recommended Strategies
Table of Contents
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 3
Introduction
Elk River is a city with a strong economic foundation. It has benefited from
fundamental strengths such as its natural setting along the Mississippi River, and its
location at the crossroads of two transportation arteries. It has put focus and
investment into its walkable downtown, a new multipurpose facility, its renowned parks
and other amenities that contribute to the quality of life of Elk River residents. And it
has fostered a vibrant business sector.
The Elk River Economic Development Authority (EDA) plays an important role in
building and sustaining the economic strength of Elk River. The EDA is a public
corporation empowered to undertake certain types of economic development projects.
It is the economic development arm of the City Council and handles all types of city
economic development projects—including project activities as acquiring, developing,
improving, and disposing of property, entering into contracts, and operating and
maintaining public affairs. It is staffed by Elk River’s economic development staff.
The EDA Strategic Plan is intended to guide the work of the Elk River EDA and
economic development staff for a five to ten year period, encompassing the strategies
and tasks that comprise the work plan of the EDA over that period of time. Many of
these strategies are ongoing—a continuation of activities already undertaken by the
EDA. Others are new undertakings and areas of focus.
The strategies and tasks of the EDA Strategic Plan reflect and support the City’s vision.
They are rooted in the existing strengths and opportunities of Elk River itself. They
have been shaped by extensive research and analysis. They have been further
informed by the priorities and insights of EDA members and City staff. They will be
shaped further as they are implemented by the EDA and its staff.
Strategic Plan Process
This strategic plan took form over a period of time starting in April 2020. In addition to
economic research, the understanding of economic conditions and potential strategic
opportunities were shaped by the following parties and processes.
Elk River EDA. The EDA offered its perspectives and insights during an introduction
meeting and two EDA Workshops.
Focus Groups. Three focus groups were convened that focused on Manufacturing and
Industry, Downtown Elk River, and Real Estate and Development.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 4
Peer city benchmarking. Forest Lake, Oakdale and Chaska were identified as peer
cities. For each city we conducted structured interviews to explore the management of
economic development strategies relevant to Elk River. Interviewees were:
• Dan Undem, Assistant City Administrator, Forest Lake
• Nate Kabat, Assistant City Administrator, Chaska
• Bob Streetar, Community Development Director, Oakdale
Individual interviews. Individual interviews were conducted with the following people.
• Paul Erickson, Founder and former Executive Director of the National Sports
Center in Blaine. Mr. Erickson offered his expertise and insights on the potential for
sports tourism in Elk River.
• Tim Storey, real estate broker and hotel market specialist, Cushman Wakefield.
Mr. Storey provided his thoughts on the potential for hotel development in Elk River.
• Amy Lord, Career and Technical Training Coordinator, ISD 728. Ms. Lord was
interviewed about opportunities for deepening workforce training strategies in Elk
River.
Elk River Staff. Elk River staff have been readily responsive in providing information and
serving as a sounding board through the course of this study. They also served as tour
guides for an Elk River site visit to many of the locations that are discussed in this report.
Each of these points of input and perspective have been critical in shaping the EDA
Strategic Plan that follows.
Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies
An important intermediate product in developing this EDA Strategic Plan was the
Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies. It documented the findings of
the economic research that was undertaken to understand the Elk River economic
context. And it proposed a broad set of recommended strategies that the City of Elk
River might consider to strengthen its economy.
The strategies from the Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies were
discussed with Elk River’s economic development staff. They were processed in a
workshop with the EDA. They were discussed further with City staff from multiple
departments to discern the best parties within Elk River’s city enterprise to champion
and lead the various strategies. The “Recommended Strategies” that are most
appropriately spearheaded by the EDA and Elk River’s economic development staff
are incorporated into this EDA Strategic Plan.
The Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies is included as an appendix
to the EDA Strategic Plan.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 5
Vision and Goals
Elk River’s Vision Statement and Supporting Themes
The following are the vision and supporting themes of the City of Elk River. The EDA
Strategic Plan plays a role in furthering the vision and supporting themes.
Vision Statement
Elk River is a welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness,
exceptional service, and community engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity.
Supporting Themes
• Maintain a distinct identity
• Create and maintain strong neighborhoods
• Keep Elk River a “safe” place
• Preserve and maintain the environment
• Make Elk River a "complete" place
o Community and economic development policies will seek to attract
employment opportunities and goods and services needed by the
community.
o The expansion of local employment creates more opportunities for people
to live and work in Elk River.
o Planning and decision‐making must recognize that the population of Elk
River is not a single commodity. Difference in age, economic status and
ethnicity must be considered in planning for future development, facilities
and services.
Economic Development Goals
The following economic development goals are the focus of this EDA Strategic Plan and its
organizing framework.
1. Support Elk River’s existing businesses through relationship building, programmatic
offerings, and high quality city services.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 6
2. Attract new business development to Elk River to build the City’s economic
vibrancy, job offerings and tax base.
3. Support impacted businesses and capitalize on opportunities associated with the
169 Redefine project.
4. Support Elk River businesses through the COVID pandemic and take steps to
foster a robust economic recovery.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 7
Elk River’s Economy
The following is a summary of economic research findings that are particularly important in
shaping the EDA Strategic Plan. A more detailed report on the economic research that
was undertaken for this plan is in the appendix.
Economic Development
Context
Elk River’s economic context was
explored through geographic and
asset mapping and an inventory of
non-location-based assets,
opportunities and deterrents to
growth.
The City benefits from an
abundance of natural amenities,
with frontage along the Mississippi
River, Elk River, and Orono Lake,
and large wooded parks. Its
highway infrastructure gives it
strong connections in every
direction, with further improvements
on the horizon when a long stretch
of Highway 169 is reconstructed.
The City has retail settings that
benefit from the City’s transportation
connectedness to surrounding
areas. They include the destination
retail centers along Hwy 169 and
the storefront business district in
downtown Elk River.
The City of Elk River has attended
to the quality of life for its residents
through the development of
recreational opportunities in its park
system, the creation of community
space on its downtown riverfront, and its investment in a new community-serving
multipurpose facility.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 8
It has a robust existing manufacturing sector and a reliable energy provider. These
characteristics provide a strong basis for attracting additional employers and jobs. The
deterrents to growth include limitations on land for new industrial development.
Population Growth
A growing population is an
economic asset. It implies
ongoing demand for new
housing. It supports existing
stores and service providers,
and it provides a basis for
new retail development. It
bolsters the values of
existing property, which
provides an incentive for
property owners to invest in
maintenance and
rehabilitation.
Demographics
The following graphs provide an overview of Elk River’s population. A higher proportion of
households in Elk River are family households, compared with the state of Minnesota as a
whole. Elk River households include an especially high proportion of families with children.
Household incomes in Elk River are around 22% higher than the state average, while
individual incomes in Elk River are lower than the state average. That implies the
prevalence of households in Elk River with multiple wage earners.
In terms of educational attainment, a similar share of Elk River residents have graduated
high school as the state of Minnesota as a whole. But a lower proportion of residents have
earned a bachelors degree or higher.
Source: ESRI Business Analyst (all charts above)
Source: ESRI Business Analyst
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 9
Elk River Employment and
Workforce
Elk River is relatively job-rich for a city that
is outside the state’s major metropolitan
areas, and is not a regional center. There
are almost as many people coming to work
in Elk River as there are people leaving Elk
River to work elsewhere.
Elk River’s roughly 11,700 jobs in 2017 was
a 14% increase over a total of around
10,300 jobs from seven years earlier in
2010—reflecting a strengthening business
environment. The growth in jobs is greater
than the estimated increase in population
over that period.
Industry Mix
The bar chart below shows the ten industry categories in Elk River that represent the
highest shares of employment. In each case the share of employment in Elk River is
compared with that industry’s share of total employment state-wide.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017
LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics
Source: U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 10
Note that 75% of jobs in Elk River are in just seven industry sectors:
• Manufacturing
• Retail trade
• Educational services
• Public administration
• Health care and social assistance
• Construction
• Accommodation and food services
These seven industry sectors comprise the core of Elk River’s economy. The five that are
distinctively strong relative to other parts of Minnesota are bolded. They comprise 61% of
all of its jobs, and include three well paying employment sectors—manufacturing, public
administration and construction.
Average Wages by Industry, Sherburne County, 2019
Average
Weekly Wage
Average
Annual Pay
Manufacturing $1,157 $60,163
Retail Trade $589 $30,624
Educational Services $489 $25,419
Public Administration $999 $51,964
Health Care and Social Assistance $786 $40,859
Construction $1,237 $64,342
Accommodation and Food Services $299 $15,538
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 11
Additional insights can be drawn relative to Elk River’s top ten industry sectors by an analysis that
shows which sectors have strengthened in recent years. That information is captured in the following
table.
Elk River’s Top Ten Industry Sectors
Strengthened
from 2010 to 2017
Had similar strength
from 2010 to 2017
Weakened
from 2010 to 2017
Over-represented in Elk River
economy compared with the
state economy
• Manufacturing
• Construction
• Retail Trade
• Education Services
• Public
Administration
• Other Services
(excluding public
administration)
• Transportation &
Warehousing
Similar share of Elk River
economy compared with the
state economy
• Management of
Companies
Under-represented in Elk River
economy compared with the
state economy
• Accommodation &
Food Services • Health Care & Social
Assistance
This analysis points to the value of continuing to foster the manufacturing sector in Elk
River. It indicates the benefit to Elk River of being the location of both Elk River and
Sherburne County offices. It suggests there may be value in understanding and fostering
the Elk River construction sector more intentionally. It raises the possibility that there may
be opportunity to solicit additional health care facilities in Elk River.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 12
Development Trends
Much of Elk River’s development over the past decade has been in the form of housing
development. According to ESRI business analyst, Elk River had 8,542 housing units in
2010, and 9550 in 2020. Of that thousand new housing units, the great majority were
single family homes and townhomes.
The map below provides an overview of new development in Elk River. It locates all
new commercial development (which in real estate terminology includes multifamily
rental housing) that has been completed in Elk River since 2010, according to the
records of Costar, a real estate data provider. Two general occupancy apartments were
developed in 2011 and 2014 near Elk River’s Northstar commuter rail station. Senior
living facilities were completed in 2017 and 2018 in west and central Elk River
respectively.
Two industrial businesses built large new facilities, in 2014 and 2016. And three new
retail properties were developed.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 13
Fostering a strong context for business in Elk River means giving attention
and support to Elk River’s many existing businesses. Supporting local
businesses retains and builds jobs. It strengthens the City’s identity as a
center of economic and business activity. And it increases the City’s
attractiveness for new businesses.
The EDA shows its commitment to Elk River’s business community through
targeted programs and continuous quality improvement to City services. It
will continue to meet with local businesses, offering support and soliciting
input. It will review and improve existing business support programs. It will
promote local businesses and encourage local shopping through initiatives
such as Together Elk River.
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
1. Business visitation program. Continue the business visitation
program, prioritizing businesses in target industries and newly
established businesses.
o Focus business visits on relationship building—learning about the business,
its successes and its challenges—as well as problem solving and extending
support as appropriate.
Goal #1
Support Elk River’s existing businesses
through relationship building, programmatic
offerings, and high quality city services
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 14
o Receive feedback on the City’s business processes in order to support
process improvements.
o Provide information about supportive programs and services—including City
programs and referrals to other government or nonprofit resources.
o Continue to include a workforce training expert in business visits as
appropriate
2. Business survey. Demonstrate the City’s interest in and support of
local businesses through an annual business survey.
o Utilize the annual survey to understand business conditions and needs, and
to invite feedback on City processes.
3. Business process improvements. Convey a customer service
orientation to the City’s business community through soliciting input
about City business processes, and utilizing that information to
streamline processes and make them more user friendly.
o Through business visitation, the business survey and other communication,
systematically note feedback about City actions, processes and practices.
Note also the input of business owners concerning the clarity and
availability of information about such processes and practices.
o Convey relevant information to administrative staff to support ongoing
process improvements.
o Summarize and report annually on the input received from businesses and
any enhancements made to City processes and communications.
4. Technical assistance. Explore contracting with a technical
assistance provider (such as Metropolitan Consortium of Community
Developers’s Open to Business program) to make a broader menu of
technical support services available to local businesses.
5. Economic Development Business Microloan Fund. Continue
to offer the microloan programs that are available to existing
businesses—Industrial Incentive Loan, Downtown Revitalization
Financing Loan, Energy Efficiency Improvement Loan—while
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 15
improving communication about their availability and evaluating their fit
with business needs.
o Make additional and ongoing efforts to promote the Energy Efficiency
Improvement Loan program in order to increase its utilization.
o Conduct an evaluation of the Downtown Revitalization Financing Loan
program to ensure that the resources that it provides are adequate for and
suited to the needs of downtown buildings, so as to preserve the historic
integrity and character of downtown Elk River.
6. Together Elk River. Continue the Together Elk River program to
promote shopping at local businesses.
o Support the continuation of the Together Elk River program, and its
adjustment to meet the evolving needs of the City, such as support for
businesses along Highway 169 who may experience reduced customer
traffic due to the construction project.
7. Hospitality. Strengthen tourism to Elk River, and support business
and household visitors, and food and beverage businesses, by
attracting additional hotel development.
o After the post-pandemic stabilization of the hospitality industry, commission
a hotel market study to analyze the market demand for a new hotel in Elk
River, and identify the hotel brands that may be attracted to potential
locations in Elk River.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 16
Elk River offers a rich cluster of strategic advantages that are and will
remain attractive to a wide range of businesses. These include its central
location at a transportation crossroads, its reliable utility infrastructure, its
tradition of manufacturing, its high design standards for new development,
and the workforce development linkages that it promotes with local
businesses. This has resulted in concentrations of businesses in a wide
range of market sectors, and benefited the city through the availability of a
great number of living wage jobs, a strong and diversified tax base, and the
provision of goods and services to meet the daily needs of its residents.
Elk River is committed to growing its business sector through attracting
new business development. The EDA will support this goal through
promoting and marketing the City, through positioning land for interested
parties, and through utilizing targeted incentives.
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
1. Promotion and Marketing. Market and promote Elk River and its
numerous locational strengths to the broader business and real estate
community, with an emphasis on reaching a set of target industries that
benefit from Elk River’s unique strengths.
Goal #2
Attract new business development to Elk
River to build the City’s economic vibrancy,
job offerings and tax base
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 17
o Continue an array of marketing and networking activities, including
advertisements in trade publications, relationship building with site
selectors, attendance at trade shows, and event sponsorships. Experiment
creatively with new approaches and media for reaching out to and recruiting
compatible businesses to Elk River.
o Sharpen the message about Elk River strengths, and make that prominent
and repetitive in marketing and communications materials. In particular,
highlight the following characteristics throughout the City’s economic
development websites and in all of the EDA’s promotional materials—its
transportation connectedness, the quality and reliability of local energy and
utility infrastructure, its thriving manufacturing sector, and its abundant
quality of life features.
o Update the City’s target industries to three that particularly benefit from Elk
River’s locational strengths— precision or high skill manufacturing,
renewable energy, and companies with statewide or regional distribution.
o Create a site map of the Northstar Business Park to include in City
marketing materials in order to illustrate the broader context of the City-
owned properties in that high quality business park.
2. Land availability. Take proactive steps to ensure and communicate
the availability of land that is suitable and prepared for new industrial
development.
o Pursue proactive and collaborative conversations with key property owners
such as Cargill and Tiller Corporation, to identify land that can be dedicated
to and guided for a future business park to the mutual benefit of the City and
the property owner.
o As future business park land is identified and becomes available, take
proactive public sector actions to create and convey a coherent vision for
the business park. Develop a site map for the future business park to
include in materials for site selectors, interested businesses and
developers.
o Take actions such as updating land use guidance/zoning, creating business
park master plans, ensuring utility provision, and undertaking related land
preparedness activities—which situate it for ready development.
3. Incentives for new business development. Utilize the City’s
toolkit of incentives as warranted and at appropriately levels to invite
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 18
new businesses in Elk River, with an emphasis on the City’s target
business sectors and businesses that provide living wage jobs.
o Establish a tax abatement policy that sets a standard for the level of tax
abatement that may be available for new business attraction.
o Set employment targets and wage expectations as a condition of providing
public financial support to new businesses.
4. Sector-specific opportunities. Explore opportunities to build new
activity in sector-specific business ecosystems in agriculture/food
related businesses, renewable energy, biomedical manufacturing and
medical services.
o Given Elk River’s strength in providing reliable high-quality energy and its
legacy of energy related businesses, and given the greater Minnesota
orientation of many renewable energy businesses, explore the potential of
fostering a cluster of renewable energy businesses in Elk River, including
consideration of a renewable energy incubator program.
o Collaborate with Elk River’s existing biomedical manufacturers to identify
opportunities for supply chain and other synergistic businesses that would
strengthen the local biomedical business ecosystem.
o Assemble a marketing packet that documents the demand for health care
services in Elk River and the relatively limited supply of service providers.
Initiate conversations with specific health care providers to explore whether
they could see an opportunity in locating new health care services in Elk
River.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 19
The redesign and reconstruction of Highway 169 through Elk River will
provide numerous economic and quality of life benefits to Elk River. It will
also result in significant business disruption during the period of
construction.
The City is committed to protecting its business community and advancing
its economic interests through attending to the aesthetic and identity
building character of the highway and bridge infrastructure, through
mitigating the impact of construction on existing businesses, and through
capitalizing on the new development opportunities that will emerge at the
new interchanges.
The EDA’s support for these economic objectives will primarily center on
the impacts of construction on existing highway oriented businesses in the
169 Redefine project area.
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
1. Economic and business impacts. Advance the City’s economic
goals and objectives through the duration of the 169 Redefine
construction project.
Goal #3
Support impacted businesses and capitalize
on opportunities associated with the 169
Redefine project
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 20
o In coordination with the Elk River City Council, adopt a statement of Elk
River’s objectives relative to the 169 Redefine project, highlighting priority
goals such as the provision of effective signage and wayfinding during
construction, and the inclusion of aesthetic enhancements in the bridges
and/or other structures completed which contribute to the distinctiveness of
Elk River.
o Include an economic development staff person in regular city staff meetings
with the 169 Redefine staff team, in order to maintain a focus on the
economic impacts and opportunities of the project.
o Develop and implement a business outreach BR&E program and group.
The 169 Redefine BR&E Group would be represented by staff from
economic development, planning, communications, engineering and
representatives from MnDOT and Sherburne County Public Works. The 169
Redefine BR&E Group will conduct weekly meetings in the corridor during
construction. Communication and Economic Development staff will post
updates on the city’s and EDA websites along with the respected social
media outlets. The program will focus on mitigating business losses, share
resources to impacted businesses, and keep the community abreast of the
evolving project.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 21
The COVID pandemic has had tremendous impacts on many small and
local businesses. Some have gone out of business. Others have
experienced extreme financial stress that may go on for some time. Cities
can play a role in providing support for impacted businesses.
The City of Elk River has shown its support for impacted businesses
through a Small Business Emergency Microloan Program, and by creating
a shop local program—Together Elk River. As the business impacts of the
pandemic continue, Elk River will consider additional steps to support its
local business community. And as the pandemic subsides the City will look
for ways to foster a strong economic recovery.
STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS
1. Local business support. Continue to identify and evaluate
opportunities for extending support to local businesses impacted by
pandemic-related economic conditions.
o As COVID pandemic impacts on local businesses continue, consider taking
additional supportive actions related to providing additional financial relief,
increasing the availability of technical assistance, reducing municipal
financial or procedural burdens on businesses, and communicating about
the availability of assistance from other parties.
Goal #4
Support Elk River businesses through the
COVID pandemic and take steps to foster a
robust economic recovery
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 22
o In the near term, continue to focus the Together Elk River program on
businesses that are experiencing hardship caused by the COVID-19
pandemic.
2. Recovery funding. Monitor the emergence of national, state, and
county programs and resources aimed at supporting post-COVID
economic recovery.
o Take steps to access, or direct local businesses to, new programs or
resources that emerge that can be utilized for post-COVID business
recovery.
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 23
Acknowledgements
There are many whose engagement, insights, expertise and local knowledge have
contributed in important ways to the development of the EDA Strategic Plan.
Special thanks to the following:
Members of the Elk River Economic
Development Authority (EDA)
Charlie Blesener
Garrett Christianson
Jeff Hartwig
Nate Ovall
Dan Tveite
Jennifer Wagner
Matt Westgaard
Elk River City Staff
Amanda Othoudt
Colleen Eddy
Calvin Portner
Zack Carlton
Peer City Interviewees
Nate Kabat, Chaska
Bob Streetar, Oakdale
Dan Undem, Forest Lake
Other Interviewees
Paul Erickson, MN Amateur Sports
Commission
Tim Storey, Cushman Wakefield
Amy Lord, ISD 728
Elk River EDA Strategic Plan | 24
Appendix
Summary of Research and
Recommended Strategies