INFORMATION #1 EDSR 01-14-2008REJournals.com -Elk River industrial condo project nears completion Page 1 of 1
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Friday January 04 2008 Welcome, Catherine
Elk River industrial condo ro ect nears com letion
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Elk River Orono Commons are along Highway 10
Staff Writer RE7aurnal5.ccsm
A major new industrial condominium project is nearing completion in Elk River. ~,.~....~
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Elk River Orono Commons is a 60,000 square foot facility located at 12671 :
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Meadowvale Road near Highway 10 and Upland Avenue, according to Dave
Schulte and Gordie Berger of River Industrial , ,
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They say they decided to dive into the commercial/industrial condo market
because, "We wanted to offer the small business owner the ability to own
instead of rent," according to Schulte.
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"The industrial condo concept has really been catching on in recent years and
we saw a need for that type of product in the northwest -- especially since the
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project had the ability to provide outdoor storage, which is very rare, ~
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The pair say the interest from potential buyers at Elk River Orono Commons "is S}~eraton
high" and add that they expect to have some tenants or buyers signed on in
"the very near future." ~'~"~~~'~"
The industrial condos allow a business to get the benefit of ownership at an
affordable price. The advantages of purchasing are "very low" Small Business
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Administration interest rates and down payments as little as 10 percent. All the ~fA1,EStA1€,14lilbl
exterior maintenance of the building and parking lot are association-
maintained. SIGN ~~'
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The project is being marketed by Equity Transwestern. FREE
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http://www.mrej .com/story.cfm?Market=MN&StoryID=15393 1 /7/2008
REJournals.com -Big Lake draws attention as commuter rail terminus, but development e... Page 1 of 3
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Jan. 07, 2008 • 09:42 AM
Tuesday January O1 2008
Welcome, Catherine
Big Lake draws attention as commuter rail terminus, i
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Developers, city officials taking a 'wait-and-see' attitude as retail, housing markets in
Sherburne County shake out
Anne Bretts Staff Writer
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Sure, the $340 million Northstar Commuter Rail line is good news for Big Lake, __~
Anoka, Coon Rapids and Fridley. And of course, local officials in those `,;~ ,
communities believe the line will spur development along the Burlington
Northern Santa Fe tracks that will carry the commuter line's estimated 4,100 '_!
riders each work day, starting in 2009. ~ c ,
Still, out at the end of the 40-mile line from downtown Minneapolis to Big Lake, ~~_~~~,~.~~~~~-~'
folks aren't bracing for a land rush just yet, even though work is under way in
Big Lake on a 60,000 square foot maintenance facility for the rail line, Wednesday;
employing approximately 23 to 26 full time employees. In the meantime, a F~~?TUil~~r 1~
transit bus line designed to run until the trains take over is filled each day. Z~(~$
"Ever bod s holdin back takin await-and-see a roach " sa s Jim Thares
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community development director for the city of Big Lake. "I think people
believe that once the train starts running you'll see some projects, but I doubt ,orz~c,~x~t5~•
that there will be any dirt turning before the trains start running."
Thares also points out that adecade-long housing boom that produced up to
150 homes a year went bust along with the national market earlier in the year, ~.,..,i
resulting in much more realistic expectations for the near future. RfAl.ES1AtE,~l
And the mixed-use developments that have had some success in the more
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densely populated city and suburban locations have hit hard times in sma .
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towns: The nearby Ramsey Town Center, for instance, has collapsed in a eNE1NSl.ETTER
financial failure of epic proportions without ever getting off the drawing board,
and in Elk River, aretail/townhome project downtown has had limited success, ~.~~,~~
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with rental units full but retail leasing and townhome sales weak. -
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Chuck Heitz, a Big Lake city councilor for 21 years and the head of the local ~. ~ ~.....,~ .v...,..,
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economic development authority, says the recent publicity over final federal
funding for the Northstar rail project has put the town on the radar of the Twin
Cities business community.
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"People are hearing about Big Lake and saying, 'There must be something
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going on up there,"' he says. But he adds the economic situation in Wright and .
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Sherburne counties is far more complicated that the expected success of a
single rail line. ~ '~~ -
Heitz, Thares and others involved with northern metro counties say they have would you like to
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several factors workin in their favor.
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* The area lies between the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, so it benefits from the
rapid growth coming from both directions. The distance is shorter than between
the Twin Cities and Duluth or Rochester, so growth is condensed and has more
impact.
* The Interstate 94 and Highway 169 freeways are major regional and national
transportation routes, moving people and goods.
* Large industrial sites and relatively low land costs draw suburban businesses
http://www.mrej.com/story.cfin?Market=MN&StoryID=15395 1/7/2008
REJournals.com -Big Lake draws attention as commuter rail terminus, but development e... Page 2 of 3
who need to expand but find themselves landlocked or priced out of their
current markets.
* Minneapolis workers have been flocking to the area, trading a longer
commute for better house prices and a more relaxed lifestyle.
* The area is on major routes to cabin country, giving it exposure to metro
workers and business owners looking for new options.
While it's hard to break out the impact of any given factor, their cumulative
effect has been felt for three decades. The state indicates Sherburne County's
population is projected to grow 106 percent, to 175,410 by 2035, while Wright
County could grow 111 percent, to 241,850 people.
But that growth isn't evenly distributed.
"We've seen all of these wonderful things happen all around us," Heitz says,
referring to a "triangle of wealth," anchored by Monticello, Elk River and
Becker.
He says those three communities are each armed with a large power plant that
provides cheap energy and the bulk of the property tax base for their cities.
That has helped those communities score major commercial and industrial
projects, as well as housing and the familiar markers of economic arrival: big
box retailers Target and Wal-Mart.
Big Lake hasn't seen those successes yet. Heitz says that one reason is
perception. Elk River and the surrounding township have combined their
populations to hit nearly 20,000 people, and are projected to double in size by
2035. Big Lake and Big Lake Township operate separately, so people -and
potential businesses -see the city's population pegged at 9,200 and don't
realize that when combined with the township it is comparable to Elk River.
And while Highway 10, which runs along the train route, is a busy
thoroughfare, it runs in the shadow of I-94, where traffic is heaviest, land is
most expensive and developers most want to be.
The old perceptions are starting to change, however. Just ask ]im Brown.
Brown saw the potential in the area years ago when he worked for the county
planning department. He entered private development and today is vice
president of Dynamics Design and Land Co. in Big Lake. He and company
president Marly Glines have spent years working on the Big Lake Marketplace, a
commercial development on Highway 10. They started buying up land and
knocking on the doors of restaurant owners, retailers and all the usual players
involved in turning a small town crossroads into a consumer spending hub.
Brown says a key victory came when the CentraCare Health System, the
Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital District and the Monticello-Buffalo
Clinic teamed up to create a new clinic and chose the Marketplace as the best
location. The Big Lake Clinic opened at the end of 2007 with four physicians and
plans to grow the patient base to 10,000.
"That was the thing that really moved things along," Brown says.
The development now has nine buildings either filled or under construction and
seven more projects in discussions.
Thares agrees that the perception of the area has changed a lot since he
arrived nearly a decade ago -and so has his job.
"It feels more like what I wanted to be doing," he says. "When I started, the
industrial park was there but there was nothing in it. I had to really hustle and
meet with people and put a lot of miles on my car."
Now the 20-acre industrial park is 75 percent occupied and the city is working
on more sites.
There still is a bedroom community feel in Big Lake, says Cameron Macht,
regional statistician for the Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development and an expert on trends in the area. He notes there are
http://www.mrej.com/story.cfm?Market=MN&StoryID=15395 1/7/2008
REJournals.com -Big Lake draws attention as commuter rail terminus, but development e... Page 3 of 3
5,651 workers commuting out and only about 1,452 commuting into Big Lake
each day. Commuters heading out end up in surrounding communities but also
as far away as St. Cloud and downtown Minneapolis.
But there is a strong manufacturing sector as well. Macht says that in 2006, the
Big Lake area had 2,960 workers in 336 companies, with a total payroll of
$98.9 million. Of those, 208 companies were inside the city, with 2,212 jobs.
The good news for Big Lake was that 27.3 percent were in goods production,
compared to a state total of only 18.9 percent.
And Big Lake added 902 jobs between 2000 and 2006, an increase of a
whopping 43.8 percent compared to the state rate o 2.4 percent.
Other major job sectors are education, ambulatory healthcare services,
construction and retail.
Sherburne County Administrator Roger Benson says the success of the three-
year-old coach line along the Northstar route shows the new rail line will be a
success in terms of ridership. He sees the impact being felt most directly in
small developments near the stations.
Another benefit will be less tangible, as the cities along the line market
themselves to workers and employers.
"I think a lot of people will look at it as an amenity, like nice parks," he says.
He also says that while the focus has been on the connection to the Twin Cities,
he believes the link to St. Cloud, which isn't in the budget yet, is just as
important to residents.
"There are a lot of students and faculty who go to St. Cloud," he says.
There also are a lot of people in the area who work and shop in St. Cloud and
the other cities west of the current route.
The Northstar Commuter Rail line might have one unexpected benefit. No one
factored the housing slump into the Northstar timetable, and the line alone
won't turn the economy around. But it could give the area an advantage in as
buyers re-enter the market.
"I think it will bounce back sooner because it is a growth corridor," Thares says
of the residential market. "Having the train link will help it."
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http://www.mrej.com/story.cfm?Market=MN&StoryID=15395 1/7/2008