The Developer - August/September 2004

Transcription

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August/September
2004 Cover Story
EDAM Summer Conference Highlights
EDAM's annual summer conference was a huge success at its new location - Ruttger's Bay
Lake Lodge in Deerwood, MN on June 23 - 25, 2004. The event hosted 150 attendees, a
record number, and included an excellent educational program with an array of social
activities for all interests. Below are pictures from the event.
2004 EDie Award
Winners
EDAM's Third Thursday
Event - Innovative
Urban Housing
Forecasted to Bring
Economic Boost to
Minneapolis
From the President
EDAM Foundation News
Upcoming Events
EDie Award Ceremony
EDAM Member News
Welcome New Members
Labor Market News
•
Work the Numbers:
Data Analysis for
Economic Developers
•
Job Skills Partnership
Awards $4.2 Million
Workforce Development
Grants
http://www.edam.org/newsletter/EDAMAugSept2004/EDAMAugSept2004.htm (1 of 29)9/21/2005 9:16:52 AM
•
June Initial Claims for
Unemployment Benefits
Well Down from Last
Year
•
JOBZ: Initiative is
Quickly Growing Jobs
Development News
•
Minnesota Department
of Employment and
Economic Development
Receives National
Award
•
Premier JOBZ Tax Free
Development Subzone
Comes on Line in the
Cambridge Opportunity
Industrial Park
•
Greater Minnesota
Initiative Touts Regional
Cooperation
•
Glossary Goes Online for
JOBZ Calculator
DEED
Commissioner
Matt Kramer
addresses
EDAM
participants
at the
Opening
Banquet
EDAM thanks its
Medallist Members for
their support...
Gold
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IRRR Agency
Kraus-Anderson
Minnesota Power
MN DEED
XCEL Energy, Inc.
Attendees also enjoyed the
recreational activtiies the Brainerd area
offers.
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Silver
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Briggs and Morgan, P.A.
CenterPoint Energy
Minnegasco
Jeff Finkle,
President/
CEO of the
International
Economic
Development
Association,
spoke on
National
Economic
Development
Trends.
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City of Shoreview
Ehlers and Associates, Inc.
City of Minneapolis
Community Planning and
Department (CPED)
Springsted, Inc.
EDAM's 2004 EDie Award Winners
Bronze
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Alliant Energy
Connexus Energy
Dakota Electric Association
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Great River Energy/
Northspan
Kennedy & Graven
Minnesota Business
Finance Corporation
ProSource Technologies
Schoell & Madson, Inc.
Short-Elliott-Hendrickson
Twin Cities - Metro CDC
Above is a picture of the award that each winner received.
The EDie Awards are awarded through nominations from your peers each year for
outstanding projects and people in economic development. The selection committee,
(LaDonna Boyd, Nancy Norr, Paul Steinman, Cathy Bennett, Nancy Hoffman, Karen
Larson, Bill Lucking and Mike Szeliga), chose from many nominations for several
categories. A special thanks to the MN Real Estate Journal for their dedicated sponsorship
of this award program.
Thanks to the MN Real Estate Journal and the selection committee for their contributions,
making the awards program a success.
n
Thanks!
EDAM's 2004
Board of Directors
Paul Steinman
President
Springsted, Inc., St. Paul
651-223-3000
[email protected]
LaDonna Boyd
First Vice President
Dakota Electric Association,
Farmington
651-463-6232
[email protected]
Nancy Norr
Second Vice President
Minnesota Power, Duluth
218-723-3913
[email protected]
Category: Retention
Project Name: Boston Scientific
Awarded to: Alan Madsen, City of Maple Grove
Boston Scientific is Maple Grove's major employer with more than 2,600 jobs, and the
new project will generate 600 new jobs in the next two years. Boston Scientific is a solid
corporate citizen and takes great pride in maintaining a beautiful corporate campus. The
City of Maple Grove provided a small amount of tax increment financing to develop the
third building and also will handle improvements to campus access points. The campus is
beautifully landscaped, and the buildings are constructed of brick, stone and glass. It
maintains a great, attractive presence to the nearby residents as well as a beautiful
corporate image from I-94 and Weaver Lake Road. Maple Grove City Administrator Al
Madsen started working with SciMed, now Boston Scientific, in the early 1990s and is
very pleased with the continued development. He states that Boston Scientific
William Lucking
Past President
Progress Plus, Inver Grove
Heights
651-451-2266
[email protected]
management and all employees are true professionals and great to work with. The city is
very pleased that Boston Scientific continues to grow in Maple Grove. The Minnesota
Department of Employment and Economic Development awarded a customized jobs
training grant.
Cathy Capone Bennett
City of Roseville, Roseville
651-490-2241
[email protected].
us
Jim Gromberg
Connexus Energy, Ramsey
763-323-2785
[email protected]
Rebecca Kurtz
Ehlers and Associates, Inc.,
Roseville
651-697-8516
[email protected]
Mark Lofthus
MN Dept. of Employment &
Economic Development, St.
Paul
651-297-4567
[email protected]
Curt Milburn
ESABA
651-772-6220
[email protected]
Category: Recruitment
Project Name: Total Card, Inc.
Awarded to: Dan Statema and the City of Luverne
Dan Statema, Luverne's EDA director, took his own initiative to advertise Luverne's JOBZ
properties in the Sioux Falls newspaper. Among the inquiries was one from Total Card,
Inc., a Sioux Falls-based credit card processing firm that was all but committed to a
building in Huron, S.D. Dan nevertheless persevered to get the company's attention —
which included an available building in Luverne, but just as importantly included highlevel customer service to obtain Total Card’s recognition that Luverne was serious about
working with them. Dan and his Luverne colleagues turned "a 1% chance" (in the
company's own words) into a deal that was consummated in three weeks and announced
on April 23. Luverne's success on this project demonstrates the value of JOBZ as a starting
point, but also the value of a strong community and economic development team to realize
what could have been viewed as a long shot at best. With Dan's leadership, Luverne is
becoming a model for aggressive and thoughtful locally-driven business expansion.
Marc Nevinski
City of Coon Rapids
763-767-6451
[email protected]
Be Heard!
Questions, call our staff editor at
651-290-6273.
Category: Attraction - Honorable Mention
Project Name: Anderson Corporation’s Plastic Extrusion Manufacturing
Awarded to: City of North Branch, Chisago County, Department of Employment
and Economic Development
Anderson Corporation's location to North Branch will keep a 100-year Minnesota
company growing in the state instead of moving to Wisconsin. Anderson had pretty much
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committed to Menomonie, Wisconsin for the expansion of their plastics extrusion parts
plants after an exhaustive search in Minnesota failed. Then with a tip from another MN
corporate professional, Anderson's tax staff and DEED evaluated the benefits of the JOBZ
program and convinced senior Anderson staff that it was worth staying in Minnesota and a
site was found in North Branch that would accommodate their need. Anderson will create
55 jobs in 2 years and 135 jobs in 5 years.
The list of project partners includes: Anderson Corp. (Mike Johnson, CEO; Bill Moore,
facilities mgr; Jim Taylor, tax director; Maureen McDonough, corp. communications
director), City of North Branch (Joel Lynch), Chisago County (Chris Eng), DEED (Matt
Kramer, Mark Lofthus, Dentley Haugesag, Paul A. Moe, Carol Pressley Olson, Steve
Sussman), Bruce Maus, Kirstin Barsness (both consultants).
Category: Best Initiative/Housing
Project Name: Arona Neighborhood Plan
Awarded to: City of Roseville and the Roseville Housing and Redevelopment
Authority
The development includes seven single-family, affordable, first-time-homebuyer homes —
plus 18 townhomes for young professionals and empty nesters, 96 senior cooperative
apartments and either 18 townhomes or 36 condominiums in Phase II.
The project has been labeled the "Mother of all Partnership Efforts" due to the unique
relationship among the partners. Specifically, the Roseville Coalition of Churches is made
up of 10 local churches of all denominations coming together to assure that housing
provided within the development would meet community needs. The churches have
worked together to market the project to their congregations in the hope that Roseville
residents would benefit from the development. This approach has worked. More than 80
percent of the senior housing component of the project is reserved by Roseville seniors.
Another partnership effort of the project is providing a link between Roseville seniors
leaving their single-family homes to new young families with children. This linkage is
important in an aging community to assure that new families have an opportunity to move
to the area which supports strong neighborhoods and schools. This linkage is provided by
non-profit housing group GMHC, in partnership with the City and the Developer. Called
the Senior Housing Regeneration Program (SHRP), a senior going into the new project can
sell his or her home to GMHC. In turn, GMHC will make any necessary improvements
and resell the home to a family at an affordable price. Three homes have been purchased in
Roseville under the program and several more are in the works.
The Rev. George Weiman, pastor of the Roseville Lutheran Church and organizer of the
Roseville Coalition of Churches, summarized the approach very well. "We think it's winwin for our people, for our city, our schools and for our congregations — to keep our
aging population here as well as provide communities of faith for new families who might
choose to move in."
The property is owned by the City. It was purchased by NCR in 1991 as an economic
development investment. A housing master plan was developed by the City over a twoyear period; the process included focus group meetings with developers, faith and school
organizations and neighborhood groups. An RFP was issued and the City Council chose a
proposal from United Properties based upon its mix of housing, site design that met the
needs of the neighbors and the unique partnership with the Churches.
The City's new Housing & Redevelopment Authority and Ramsey County will participate
financially in development of the single-family homes to assure that they meet the targets
of affordability and new families.
Groundbreaking took place in Summer 2003, with completion of the first phase expected
in 2004. Upon completion, the project is expected to be home to more than 230 people and
generate $230,000 in new taxes annually.
Category: Best Initiative/Technology
Project Name: Dakota County Communities E-Commerce Ready Initiative
Awarded to: Bill Coleman and Dakota Futures
The Dakota County Communities E-Commerce Ready Initiative was a coordinated effort
by Dakota County and its cities to collaboratively pursue and achieve E-Commerce Ready
certification from DEED. Dakota County is the first and only county to achieve this status;
most communities have been certified individually. The project required an inventory of
available telecommunications services, surveys and focus groups of businesses,
governments and school districts and the development of action plans to further
technology deployment and usage. A growing web site is in place at www.e-dakotacounty.
com with information on service providers, technology consultants, education and training
and key community links.
Project partners include Dakota Future and Dakota County, all 10 cities, 8 school districts,
and 7 chambers of commerce in Dakota County; Frontier Communications, FTTH
Communications, Inver Hills Community College, and assorted private sector technology
firms also participated. Community Technology Advisors Corp. served as project
consultant.
Category: Best Marketing
Project Name: Faribault County EDA/Canadian Consulate Networking
Awarded to: Faribault County EDA
The Faribault County Economic Development Authority and prominent business owners
from Faribault County hosted a reception for a delegation of 18 Canadian IT companies
that are interested in a Minnesota presence. This international industry-to-industry
networking reception is a result of the collaboration of Jack Quinlivan, Executive Director
of the Faribault County Economic Development Authority, and Kate Saba, Business
Development Officer, IT Sector for the Canadian Consulate General.
Business leaders in Faribault County recognized and supported this marketing effort by
donating 70% of the reception cost. Faribault County has taken the position that rural
economic development should consist of proactive marketing tactics to promote JOBZone
properties.
Faribault County established relationships with professional consultants to provide all the
information and support a business may need to make the decision to come to Minnesota.
A number of professional consultants were available at the reception; they included
representatives from Dorsey & Whitney, Minnesota Community Capital Fund President &
CEO Scott Martin, Joe Kurtzman of the Minnesota Job Service, international business
consultant Geoffrey Ferster, and Teresa Harrington of Savvy Consulting.
Category: Best Event
Project Name: Minnesota Manufacturing Summit
Awarded to: Diane Knutson, DEED
Diane Knutson, Manufacturers Advocate, was instrumental in setting up the "Minnesota
Manufacturing Summit" held April 5, 2004, at the Downtown Hilton in Minneapolis. The
summit hosted over 500 business owners and government associates who came to hear U.
S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans and other distinguished business and economic
development speakers tell what a variety of initiatives are doing to help make Minnesota a
great place to live, work and do business.
Category: Outstanding Individual Volunteer
Project Name: Detroit Lakes Community and Cultural Center
Awarded to: Dennis Winskowski
Dennis Winskowski is the publisher of Detroit Lakes Newspapers and a longtime
economic development supporter who served for 13 years (including long stints as
chairman) on both the Detroit Lakes EDA Board and the Becker County EDA Board. He
is largely responsible for a long-unrealized dream coming true in Detroit Lakes — a
community and cultural center.
With his vision and leadership, a decrepit former junior high school was turned into a stateof-the art theater and conference center, and an adjoining gymnasium and aquatics center
was built in a run-down neighborhood near downtown Detroit Lakes. And most
impressively, the $9 million project was built largely with donated dollars, raised by local
volunteers.
The renovation and construction work ended in January 2001 with a building of more than
105,000 square feet. The Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center currently houses a
Fitness & Aquatics center, a Senior Citizens Center, an Alternative Learning Center,
multiple daycare facilities, and of course, the beautifully renovated 837-seat Historic
Holmes Theatre and Event Center.
The most impressive part of this effort is the willingness of community members to raise
nearly $4 million in one year to support the renovation and construction of Winskowski's
vision. The total price tag of the facility was $9 million; the center continues to pay off a
construction loan of $1.5 million from the City of Detroit Lakes.
The facility is managed by Holmes Center, Incorporated, and has a board of directors
consisting of eight representatives from the city, school, community and the Midwest
Minnesota Community Development Corporation. Winskowski serves as board chairman.
More than 50 employees run the center including lifeguards, fitness instructors, theatre
operations, maintenance staff and more. The Detroit Lakes Community & Cultural Center
has become a focal point of the community. Not only is the fitness and aquatics center
much appreciated — and well used — by winter-weary residents, but the renovated theatre
has been a popular place to entertain audiences.
This is just one of dozens of community projects that Winskowski has helped bring to
reality. (Another is the Anishinaabe Center, a place for Detroit Lakes' often-neglected
American Indian community to gather and to sell locally-produced native crafts).
Winskowski is that rare community-minded man of vision who knows how to get things
done, largely behind the scenes. Most people in Detroit Lakes don't realize the positive
impact he has had on development in the area.
Category: President’s Award
Project Name: Edgewood Business Center
Awarded to: Paul Hyde, Real Estate Recycling
What Real Estate Recycling accomplished in St. Louis Park was nothing short of
remarkable. In the summer of 2003, Real Estate Recycling purchased a seriously
contaminated property located at 2401 Edgewood Ave., figured out all the complex
environmental issues facing this property, worked in concert with the MPCA on site clean
up, demolished the former buildings and built an attractive 79,000-square-foot office
warehouse that was 80% leased and employed 100 workers upon opening in early
February 2004.
Following closure of the former manufacturing facility in 1998, it was clear that the
property would not be redeveloped without addressing the varied and considerable
contamination present throughout the site. Approximately 20 potential purchasers had
previously attempted to put together a viable project at this location but all were stymied
due to the sizable financial and liability-related concerns stemming from the extent of the
contamination. Enter Real Estate Recycling; the company’s assessment of the property
discovered the following challenges:
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More than 11,000 cubic yards of processing waste containing lithium was buried
on the site. The contaminated material was as deep as 16 feet and about as wide as
a football field. This was a unique contaminant in that no firm in Minnesota had
ever remediated a site containing lithium-impacted soils. The MPCA did not even
have a standard for assessing the health risk posed by lithium.
More than 7,000 cubic yards of petroleum impacted soil.
Approximately 250 cubic yards of soils contaminated with lead and barium.
Ten septic tanks.
Two 15,000-gallon underground storage tanks.
The former 105,336-square-foot manufacturing facility had to be demolished in a
fully developed area adjacent to a elementary school.
The former building had a roof containing asbestos and, as a result, required the
panels to be removed and disposed of by hand.
Real Estate Recycling was able to get its arms around all the above issues and, working in
concert with the MPCA and the City, took on the risk. The developer and the St. Louis
Park EDA successfully obtained more than $1.7 million in contamination clean-up grants
from DEED, the Metropolitan Council and Hennepin County. The City also provided
$600,000 in tax increment finance assistance. The fact that the firm was able to overcome
the many hurdles facing redevelopment of this site in such a short period of time is a
testament to Real Estate Recycling’s considerable abilities, ingenuity, and risk tolerance.
The Edgewood Business Center deserves recognition for the following reasons:
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The property’s market value had declined 58% primarily due to lithium-related
contamination on the site. The property, as contaminated, had an assessed value of
$1 million. The costs of demolition, cleanup, and building cap exceeded $2.4
million. Thus, the property actually had a value of negative $1.4 million. When
this redevelopment is fully assessed, the property will have an estimated market
value of nearly $4.7 million. As contaminated, the property generated $36,687 in
property taxes. The projected property tax on the new building is $177,500 —
nearly five times the taxes generated prior to cleanup.
The former facility was deteriorating and had a negative influence on neighboring
properties in an otherwise healthy industrial park. After the former facility’s
closure, the City’s police department responded to more than 45 public safety
incidents at the site. These varied in severity but were as serious as the discovery
of a methamphetamine lab. The vacant property was viewed locally as a "youth
trouble spot." This was of significant concern given the site’s immediate
proximity to a heavily-used regional trail, public park, and elementary school.
Today, the redeveloped property is a tremendous asset to the surrounding
industrial park and neighborhood.
This project provided 79,000 square feet of modern office/showroom space. This
was significant because St. Louis Park previously did not have a new industrial
building of this type to offer in the marketplace.
The redevelopment resulted in more than 100 new jobs and fully returned nearly 6
acres of industrial property to the City’s tax roll.
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EDAM's Third Thursday Event: Innovative
Urban Housing Forecasted to Bring
Economic Boost to Minneapolis
Heritage Park is the
newest urban housing
development under
construction on the Near
Northside of Minneapolis.
When completed, the
project will include more
than 500 new rental units
and more than 400 new
home ownership units in
the Near Northside. This
exciting project is
bringing a mix of quality
new homes consisting of
single family, duplexes,
townhomes, and
condominiums that
provide ownership opportunities at all prices for first time buyers, as well as seasoned
homeowners. The Heritage Park Development, lead by the Heritage Housing LLC
development team, is laying a strong foundation for this exciting project while boosting
economic opportunity and providing much needed revitalization to the area.
Join Gary Findell of LHB and Rod Hardy of the Sienna Corporation for a discussion of
this project. Sienna Corporation is one of the partners of the Heritage Housing LLC
development team. They will be joined by CPED (City of Minneapolis Community
Planning and Economic Devlopment) staff to talk about the economic strategy behind the
project, including the incorporation of mixed use developments, multiple builders, and
community groups. Learn why this fast-changing area is predicted to be one of
Minneapolis’ hottest new neighborhoods.
Where: Milwaukee Depot, downtown Minneapolis
When: Thursday, September 16, 2004
Speakers:
Gary Findell, ALSA, LHB Housing Group
Gary has nearly 20 years of experience in housing design/construction and landscape
architecture and is a co-leader of the LHB Housing Group. His experience in residential
design/construction began while working for the family business building houses many
years ago and continues today with planning and design work on housing projects
throughout the Twin Cities Metro area. Two of his recent housing projects include master
planning and designing for the Heritage Park development in Minneapolis and for the
Railroad Island development in the St. Paul area.
Rod Hardy, Principal, the Sienna Corporation
Rod Hardy’s education combined with more than 30 years of experience in planning and
development give any project taken by Sienna Corporation an exceptional value. As a
founding principal of Sienna Corporation in 1977, Rod has been active in the planning,
engineering and development of residential real estate in the Twin Cities metropolitan area
for over 20 years. He has an undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard College, a
Masters Degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and the Fulbright
Fellowship at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland).
Sienna Corporation, formed in 1977, is a Minnesota-based, multidisciplinary firm
specializing in residential and community development and project management/
coordination. Sienna Corporation has successfully developed more than 7,000 single and
multi-family units in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Sienna MC was created in 1997 to
assist local governments with strengthening communities through the quality design and
the creation of diverse and sustainable neighborhoods consisting of homes, schools, civic
facilities and businesses.
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From the President
I hope everyone is getting plenty of golfing and
fishing in this summer! Some of that likely began
back at the end of June when EDAM held its
annual Summer Conference at Ruttger's. In
addition to wonderful outdoor activities, the
conference provided another powerful educational
experience for EDAM members. Our new venue
received high marks, so we will return to Ruttger's
again next year.
Paul Steinman, EDAM President
The EDAM board took time off in July to
complete an extensive strategic planning exercise,
facilitated by Mark James of ED Solutions, Inc.,
of Dublin, Ohio. Several primary areas of interest
were discussed in interviews of directors and
general members conducted by James as part of
the pre-planning activities. The areas of focused
attention were:
1) Networking
2) Education
3) Lobbying
4) Partnering with DEED
5) Membership Development
6) Administration of the Association
During the strategic planning session, the board further developed the areas of interest to
eventually create a course of action for the next year of the Association. The course of
action contains the following four specific issues:
1) Create/distribute a 2004 annual report
2) Create an effective membership management system
3) Implement a strategy which defines our relationship with allied
organizations
4) Evaluate our governance model
This is not an exhaustive list. The board discussed many others such as defining our website strategy, writing a series of white papers on various development topics, and other
important education and communication issues. Additional information will be provided
on each of the major initiatives as they are further developed. You can be sure that the
result of this process will be to have a more effective organization that can better serve the
needs of its members. As always, feel free to call me or any of your board members to
discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Paul T. Steinman, President
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EDAM Foundation News
Building Stronger Minnesota Communities
by Patrick Connoy
Congratulations!
Five scholarships have been made to EDAM members who successfully completed the
National Development Council’s The Art of Deal Structuring course in June 2004. The
$500 scholarships will reimburse these EDAM members for a portion of the NDC
tuition expense. All the recipients have agreed to participate in a five-year longitudinal
study tracking their careers in economic development.
Scholarship recipients:
• Karen Lauer, Barnesville EDA
• Christie Rock, St. Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership
• Eric Hansen, City of Minneapolis CPED
• Gail Leverson, Cass County/Self-Employed
• Kersten Elverum, City of Hopkins
EDAM Member Internship Opportunities
Starting in Fall 2004, the EDAM Foundation will be seeking and awarding $500
scholarships to EDAM members to provide structured internship opportunities to
students. EDAM members will be reimbursed up to $500 of the actual salary paid to
interns. The student interns will be required to participate in a five-year longitudinal
study tracking their economic development careers. Applications from EDAM members
and interns will be sought through the EDAM Foundation web site.
EDAM Foundation Intern Report from the City of Oakdale
Christie Penn has completed her Economic Development Internship with the City of
Oakdale, and will start college at the University of Wisconsin – Madison this fall. One
of Ms. Penn’s first assignments was preparing a Community Development Block Grant
application that required her to work closely with the Two Rivers Community Land
Trust. Ms. Penn also worked with the Oakdale Economic Development Commission
preparing the ED Newsletter and supporting the business retention program.
Christie said this about her internship:
“I feel that after taking this job I have a much better grasp of how both
the private and public sector function together. I have learned a wealth
of new information in a relatively short amount of time. I came into this
role with the mindset of a private sector businessperson—focused on
results, profits, and the bottom line. However, in my time here I have
learned the importance of figuring equality, efficiency, fairness and
quality of life into that bottom line. These are lessons that will apply to
me in any career I pursue in the future.”
Dan Hartman, Oakdale Assistant City Administrator, stated:
"On behalf of the City I would like to thank you (EDAM Foundation)
for funding this worthwhile program. I believe it has been a mutually
beneficial experience for both the City and Christine. Our intern has
proven to be an asset to our staff. Chris is a hard worker and very
responsible. She will tackle any assigned task and contributes ideas as
a part of the City’s administrative team. We are pleased with how
quickly she has become an important part of our team. Hiring Christine
is one of the best decisions we have made!”
The EDAM Foundation is proud that its $750 intern scholarship to the City of Oakdale
supported Christine Penn’s internship.
Education and Scholarship Update: Jim Maciej
One of the primary thrusts of the EDAM Foundation since its inception has been the
education and training of current and future local, regional and state-level economic
development professionals in Minnesota. To further this objective, the Board has
entered into a working partnership with St. Cloud State University’s “Community
Development” Program, Minnesota’s only undergraduate program in community
development, to provide scholarship and internship opportunities for qualified students.
The program has been extremely successful in educating current leaders in Minnesota’s
economic development activities and with EDAM’s assistance, will create an even
greater positive impact in this endeavor.
Professor Kent Robertson, who heads the Community Development Program, recently
addressed the Foundation Board and detailed an impressive list of graduates serving
Minnesota’s communities in planning and zoning, downtown revitalization,
transportation, housing and residential development, environmental management and
economic development activities. Program graduates are serving or directing economic
development efforts in Chanhassen, Sartell, Prior Lake, Mound, Alexandria, Elk River,
Brooklyn Park, Bloomington, Burnsville, Lakeville, Howard Lake and Park Rapids
among others.
Economic Development Early-Response Team (ERT) Update: David Anderson
The Economic Development Early-Response Team (ERT) will enter the
implementation phase in late Summer/early Fall 2004. With the recent dedication of
funding necessary to launch this initiative, near-term activities will include formation of
the ERT roster, program guidelines and ERT pilot visit. In the coming weeks and
months, EDAM members will be apprised of the timeline and opportunity to engage the
ERT resource in your community. For more information, please contact EDAM
Foundation board members and ERT initiative co-chairs Dave Anderson (612-3327281) or Kirstin Barsness (651-408-1032).
Watch for EDAMFoundation.org
August 1, 2004 is the target date for the new EDAM Foundation web site to go online.
The web site will contain information about the Foundation, application forms for
EDAM Foundation programs, long-term tracking Foundation scholarships and
assistance, plus links to our partners, contributors and supporters. We will have direct
links from the EDAM and MN Department of Employment and Economic
Development (DEED) web sites. ArcStone is designing the Foundation web site.
Summer Conference Golf and Fishing Tournament Scholarship Fund Raising
Thanks to EDAM members, the Foundation raised over $2,200 for its education,
scholarship and internship programs. Special thanks to Kevin Maas and to the following:
Springsted, Inc.
Dakota Electric Association
Minnesota Community Capital Fund
Ehlers, Inc.
Landform
Briggs and Morgan, P.A.
Progress Plus
Great River Energy/Northspan
Xcel Energy, Inc.
Kraus-Anderson
Connexus Energy
Ryan Companies US, Inc.
Bradley & Deike, P.A.
Community Technology Advisors
EDAM Memorials
EDAM made contributions to the Foundation in the names of the following members
we will miss:
Roger Jensen
Brian Fazio
Jim Lushine
EDAM Foundation Board Members and Past EDAM Presidents:
David Anderson, Vice-Chair (2001)
Kirstin Barsness (1999)
Tim Clawson, Secretary/Treasurer (1995-1996)
Patrick Connoy, Chair (2000)
Jim Maciej (1981-1982)
Al Madsen (1989-1990)
Jim Trucker (1983-1984)
We need your support! Give to the EDAM Foundation today! For more information
about EDAM Foundation programs or how to contribute call Patrick Connoy at 612348-2215 or Jim Trucker at 651-291-5663.
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Upcoming Events
September 13-14, 2004
Knowledge Clusters and Entrepreneurship International Conference
Learn about leading-edge work in knowledge clusters and entrepreneurship at this
conference to be held at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and the University of
Minnesota's Minneapolis campus. The conference will highlight research and best
practices in these inter-related economic development topics.
The conference is designed for practitioners, financiers, policymakers and researchers who
focus on field application. To learn more about the conference and to register on-line, go
to http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/slp/clusters_entrepreneurship/index.htm.
For questions about the conference, contact Marit Enerson at [email protected] or
612-625-8575.
September 16, 2004
EDAM's Third Thursday Event: Heritage Redevelopment Project in North Minneapolis
Location: The Depot - Minneapolis (see the article here for more information).
October 6-7, 2004
9th Annual Development Conference - SUPER CONFERENCE
This year’s SUPER CONFERENCE is packed with economic development, workforce
development, and educational information. Sponsors include the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development, the Economic Development Association of
Minnesota, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, University of Minnesota –
Continuing Education, and the Governor’s Workforce Development Council.
For sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, contact Jo Iverson at 651-296-9090 or email
[email protected].
October 18-22, 2004
Minnesota Manufacturing Week, statewide
This year’s Minnesota Manufacturing Week will kick off with an event coordinated by the
Minnesota Manufacturing Coalition, a partnership of over 26 manufacturing associations
throughout the state. Minnesota Manufacturing Week consists of various events hosted by
chambers of commerce, cities, and community organizations wishing to recognize local
manufacturers, host plant tours, and provide educational information on the benefits of a
career in manufacturing. This year will also include follow-up roundtable discussions
based on last October’s Governor’s Manufacturing Roundtable discussions held
throughout the state.
Minnesota Manufacturing Week is sponsored by the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and the
Minnesota Manufacturing Coalition.
For more information on hosting a manufacturing event and recognizing local
manufacturers, contact Gerry Wenner, Business Development Marketing, at 651-297-1844
or email [email protected].
October 20-21, 2004
Medical Design & Manufacturing Show, Positively Minnesota Exhibit Booth and
Reception
Positively Minnesota partners are coming together for the third year to promote and thank
Minnesota’s medical device industry at a private reception at the Medical Design &
Manufacturing Show. The private reception will be held in the Seasons Room of the
Minneapolis Convention Center Wednesday, October 20.
For exhibit booth and/or private reception sponsorship information, contact Business
Development Marketing at 651-297-2272 or email [email protected].
November 18, 2004
EDAM Event
Details: TBA
November 6 – 10, 2004
CoreNet Global Summit, San Antonio, Texas - Positively Minnesota exhibit booth
sponsorship
Be a Positively Minnesota sponsoring partner along with other economic development
organizations, communities, and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development. The Positively Minnesota partners joined forces to represent Minnesota and
promote the Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) to national site selectors and real
estate consultants at the CoreNet Global Summit in Chicago this past May 2004. With a
strong first impression, Minnesota is determined to continue getting in front of this highlytargeted audience at CoreNet Global Summit in San Antonio.
For information on being a Positively Minnesota partner in the Positively Minnesota
exhibit booth at CoreNet Global Summit, San Antonio, contact Beth Jameston at 651-2962169 or email [email protected].
December 9, 2004
EDAM's Holiday Networking Event
Details: TBA
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EDAM Member News
To submit your personal or organizational news for publication in The Developer, please email [email protected].
n
Amcon Construction Hires Steve
Baumann as Project Manager
Amcon
Construction
Company
hired Steve
Baumann as a
project
manager.
Baumann has
25 years
experience in
the
construction industry, of which the last
seven years have involved working
with the public school sector.
Baumann is currently managing
projects for PACT Charter School,
New Prague ISD 721 and the
International Union of Painters and
Allied Trades District Council 82.
Amcon Begins Construction on 14Screen Theater in Monticello
Muller Family Theatres, the second
largest family-owned theater in
Minnesota, breaks ground for its
newest theater in Monticello. The new
theater will be built at the southern
gateway to Monticello with high
visibility and easy access.
Muller currently has 72 screens in
seven theaters and cities in Minnesota.
Amcon Construction is designing and
building the newest theatre, which will
feature 14 screens, 2700 seats, two
lobby concessions, two satellite
concessions in the wings, stadium
seating and digital surround sound in
all theaters. The size and basic layout
Patience Pays off for Elk RiverVenture
In mid-2001, with a booming business and
dwindling space in his leased facility in Dayton,
Minn., Mark Orluck was getting serious about
relocation. His goal was to build a new facility
somewhere in the northwest Twin Cities metro
area. Those plans got sidetracked when 9/11
and a declining economy slowed the growth of
his high-precision manufacturing firm.
Fortunately, times have changed. Orluck
Industries Inc. recently received final city and
county approval for a new $1.41 million,
23,000 square foot manufacturing facility on
2.79 acres in Elk River.
But even with an improving economy, Orluck
Industries probably wouldn’t have been able to
relocate to a new facility without the
enthusiastic, ongoing support of the City of Elk
River.
Christopher Garrison Named Sr. Design
Associate with KKE
KKE Architects has hired Christopher Garrison,
AIA, as a senior design associate with the
company's Retail Team. In his new position, he
will be responsible for providing retail design
leadership in collaboration with other retail
market leaders across KKE's offices.
Bringing more than a decade of experience in
the architecture profession, Garrison most
recently worked with Dorsky Hodgson +
Partners in Cleveland as an associate senior
designer. Previously, he worked for Clevelandbased KA, Inc. Architecture as assistant director
of design and prior to that as architectural
designer for JPRA/Peterhansrea in Farmington
Hills, Mich.
KKE Elects Quin Scott to Board
KKE Architects, Inc.'s shareholders have
elected Quin Scott, AIA, to serve on its board
of directors.
Recently selected as one of The Business
Journal's "Forty Under 40", Scott is known for
his ability to build consensus and accomplish
the most important goals.
In just the last 12 months of his 15-year career,
Scott has helped shape such projects as the
is modeled after Muller’s Lakeville
Theatre, but Monticello will have its
own unique look and style.
The theater is scheduled to open in
November for the Thanksgiving
holiday. Amcon has taken on the
challenge of designing and
constructing the 73,000-sq. ft. theater
in a short amount of time.
award-winning Center for Victims of Torture in
St. Paul, the Lower Sioux Indians Community
Center in Morton, Minn., and the renovation of
St. Paul's historic Minnesota State Fair
Grandstand.
City of Lakeville News
Final plat approval was given at the June 21
City Council meeting for the Argonne Village
development located east of I-35, north of
County Road 50. Rainbow Foods, which will be
approximately 68,000 square feet in size, is the
anchor tenant in the 36-acre development,
which will include a total of 134,000 square
feet of commercial space. This development by
United Properties is planned to be open mid2005.
News from the Blandin Foundation
As part of its ongoing commitment to
community economic vitality, the
Blandin Foundation will soon launch a
new program to help keep rural
communities competitive in the new
global "knowledge economy." The Get
Kowalski’s Grocery will open in Lakeville as
Broadband Program – Keeping
Communities Competitive program is i the anchor tenant in Phase II of the Lakeville
Crossing development, located on County Road
designed to help communities
46, west of Cedar Avenue. Phase II will include
maximize their utilization of
four buildings totaling 76,000 square feet of
broadband based technologies.
retail and office space and is expected to be
Broadband helps communities:
completed in 2005.
●
●
●
●
Attract and retain higher
paying jobs
Make entrepreneurs and
traditional industries more
competitive and productive.
Improve the efficiency of
community services
Improve quality of life.
The Get Broadband program is a
product of the Blandin Broadband
Initiative which was launched in
December, 2002. This initiative is led
be a senior group of industry,
governmental and consumer
representatives. For more information,
contact Gary Fields, Blandin
Broadband Initiative at 651-698-7464,
or visit us at our web site at www.
blandinfoundation.org.
The commercial portion of the 240-acre, mixeduse Crossroads of Lakeville development is
98% leased with 15 new businesses open and
the remaining businesses to open by fall. A
68,000-square-foot Cub Foods is the anchor
tenant in the development, which will include a
total of 116,000 square feet of commercial
space.
The Avalon Group, developers of the
TimberCrest At Lakeville development,
recently announced that Marshalls, and another
retail tenant yet to be announced, would be part
of the 59,000-square-foot addition being
constructed next to SuperTarget.
Montevideo Named an All-America City
CTAC News
Community Technology Advisors
(www.communitytechnologyadvisors.
com) is working on two very different
projects that share interesting
similarities. CTAC is leading the City
of Eagan Technology Task Force that
is examining the issues of community
access to broadband, availability of
redundant fiber networks for large
business development, the value of
wireless technologies serving
community "hot spots" or across the
community and the possible roles for
the City of Eagan in encouraging or
offering these services.
A second project has CTAC assessing
the current telecommunications
situation and plans for each of the 11
Indian reservations in Minnesota.
Tribal governments are asking many
of the same questions as community
leaders across Minnesota and
rightfully expect the same levels of
telecommunications services as
neighboring communities. As in
Eagan, we are finding that levels of
service on reservations are inconsistent
from place to place, leaving some
residents and businesses behind. With
both projects, technology inventories
and interesting discussions on the
proper role for government are
occurring.
News from Diversified Construction
Diversified Construction, a St. Louis
Park based general contractor, recently
completed construction of Moob
Pharmacy in St. Paul and Ritrama
offices in Minneapolis. Diversified has
recently begun construction on
Anytime Fitness in Lakeville, Twin
City International School in
Minneapolis and Frogtown Family
Center in St. Paul.
The National Civic
League has announced
that Montevideo has
been named an AllAmerica City at the 2004
National Awards
Ceremony on June 12,
2004 in Atlanta.
Montevideo was one of
30 finalists in the
competition, which is the
nation's longest running
and most prestigious civic recognition program.
The All-America City Award encourages and
recognizes civic excellence, honoring
communities in which citizens, government,
business, and non-profit organizations
demonstrate successful resolution of critical
community issues.
News from
Rosemount
The City of Rosemount is preparing a request
for proposal/request for qualifications for the
first phase in its efforts to revitalize the City’s
downtown. In July, the Rosemount City
Council approved a development framework for
downtown that envisions new opportunities in
retail, office space, and housing. Earlier in the
year, the City created a tax increment financing
district that encompasses downtown and a
former factory site that will become a 642-unit
housing development. The RFP/Q for
downtown projects will be issued around midAugust, and will appear on the City’s website,
http://www.ci.rosemount.mn.us, and on the site
of Ehlers & Associates, http://www.ehlers-inc.
com/minnesota/projects/
minnesota_projects.htm . For more information,
contact the Rosemount Community
Development Director, Kim Lindquist, at 651322-2020.
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Welcome New EDAM Members!
Ms Heidi Timm-Bijold
Assistant Business Developer
City Of Duluth
Inez Wildwood
Employee Relations Representative
Minnesota Power
Search Tip for EDAM Web site
Did you know you can look up any of our 500 EDAM members or their organizations on
the members-only section of our web site, www.edam.org? Your email address is your log
in. If you forgot your password, simply click on the stick man and it will be immediately
emailed
to you.
If you're not sure of the exact name or spelling of an organization or person, use the %...%
feature. E.g. %sleepy% will bring up "City of Sleepy Eye" and "Sleepy Eye EDA" etc.
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Labor Market News
Work the Numbers: Data Analysis for Economic Developers
This practical workshop will familiarize participants with the demographic, economic and
job market data available from DEED, Census, and other sources. Participants will discuss
how the data are used, interpreted and applied to economic development project needs.
More importantly, participants will be guided through access of available data.
This is a hands-on workshop on the interpretation and packaging of data about your
market. Come prepared to crunch numbers!
The agenda includes:
• Assembling workforce stats out of Census and DEED datasets
• Industry statistics, employment mix and employment trends
• Sources of wage and salary data
• Bringing it all together—project-specific labor market assessments
When and Where
August 16, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., at Minnesota DEED, 121 E. 7th Place (5th Floor), St Paul.
Pre-requisites
This workshop requires familiarity with Internet navigation AND basic proficiency
working with databases or spreadsheets (like Excel).
Who Should Attend
This course is free to economic developers, chamber of commerce professionals, and trade
association professionals based in Minnesota.
Registration
To register for this workshop, please contact:
Robyn Frank at Minnesota DEED, Labor Market Information Office phone: 651-296-6545
or email [email protected].
If e-mailing, please specify: course title, your name, your organization, phone number, fax,
and email.
There is a course registration limit of 12 people. First come—first served! Please register
by August 9 for the August 16 session.
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••••
Job Skills Partnership Awards $4.2 Million Workforce
Development Grants
Thousands of workers from businesses throughout Minnesota will receive career-
enhancing training from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program. Nineteen
grants—totaling $4,232,243—will assist over 5,500 workers. Grants are awarded through
the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board.
The grants include:
* Rural Cellular Corporation/Alexandria Technical College, $107,187. Grant will
provide high-level training for over 390 administrative, executive and frontline employees,
and will support Rural Cellular’s new technology, systems and long-term relationships
with other providers to stabilize roaming revenue in rural Minnesota. It’s anticipated Rural
Cellular Corporation will hire 34 employees as a result of this workforce-development
project.
Local contact: Kevin Kopischke, Vice President, Alexandria Technical College, 320-7624404.
* Dental Careers Institute/Minneapolis Community and Technical College, $216,694.
Grant will provide at-risk patients with better access to dental care by providing 373
Minneapolis urban residents with an educational pathway in the dental profession.
Minneapolis Community and Technical College and business partners Apple Tree Dental
and HealthPartners, Inc. will develop a Dental Careers Task Force; create an educational
plan for each trainee; redesign dental courses; and pilot entry-level and advanced training.
Local contact: Dr. Jo Peterson, Dean, Minneapolis Community and Technical College,
612-659-6501
* Andersen Corporation/Dakota County Technical College, $399,792. To support
aggressive growth within the new North Branch, Minnesota plant and the company’s
present Newport plant, the grant will train 1,200 Andersen employees in a model
Advanced Learning Technologies (ALT) Program. The training will enable the Andersen
manufacturing team to implement tools and techniques considered essential for
transforming the organization and redefining processes.
Local contact: Pat McQuillan, Customized Training Coordinator, 651-423-8318.
* Healthcare Consortium/Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Cambridge Campus,
$399,846. Grant will support the entry-level and advanced training needs of 988
employees of Cambridge Medical Center and Grandview Christian Ministries as they
introduce a lift training station and move to a ‘no lift’ workplace. Anoka-Ramsey
Community College will also redesign nursing curriculum to include safest work practices.
Local contact: Jess Niebuhr, Customized Training Director, 763-422-3414.
* Arctic Cat Inc./Northland Community and Technical College, $399,129. Grant will
assist Arctic Cat in reducing the time to respond to change by providing training in
demand flow technology and production and inventory management curriculum to 255
employees. Northland Community and Technical College will create industry-specific
certificates and develop a manufacturing technology degree.
Local contact: Chad Coauette, Director of Workforce Development, 218-681-0719.
* Fairview Health Services/Normandale Community College, $287,377. Grant will
fund formal training in imaging specialties and create a path to career advancement for
190 technicians by providing classroom and clinical experience to certified radiologic
technologists.
Local contact: Brenda Dickinson, Director, Center for Applied Learning, 952-487-8238.
* Metro Dentalcare/Normandale Community College, $397,253. Metro Dentalcare
offers a complete range of routine and specialized dental health services through its group
practice of 20 clinics in the Twin Cities metro area. Training for 470 employees in
expanded dental functions will advance the skills level of dental hygienists and dental
assistants; and dental hygienists will move to higher levels within their job category and
earn additional compensation.
Local contact: Brenda Dickinson, Director, Center for Applied Learning, 952-487-8238.
* Auto Refinishing Consortium/Pine Technical College, $185,000. This project aims to
stem the shortage of skilled collision-repair industry workers by helping business partners
increase the effectiveness and flexibility of their training programs and contain costs.
More than 100 autobody preparers, painters and estimators from Lehman’s Garage, Inc.,
Maaco Collision Repair and Auto Painting, and Bodyworks Super Collision Center will
receive classroom-based instruction; computer-assisted training; and on the-job training.
After completing the training successfully, trainees will earn Pine Technical College
transcripts.
Local contact: John Heckman, Director, Johnson Center for VR, 320-629-5143.
* Minnesota Elevator, Inc./South Central Technical College, $207,254. Grant will help
Minnesota Elevator, Inc., an employee-owned business, to remain competitive in the
elevator market by using more technology to increase quality and reduce delivery time.
Training in Pro Engineering software will be given to 141 employees. In addition, students
enrolled in South Central Technical College’s machine tool technology program will also
have access to the software.
Local contact: R. Jane Carter, Customized Training Coordinator, 507-389-7326.
* Simulation in Healthcare Training/Ridgewater College, $389,671. Simulation
training in pediatric care is the focus of this workforce-development grant. Nearly 550
healthcare professionals employed by Mercy Hospital and Health Care Center, Moose
Lake; Children’s Hospitals and Clinics, Minneapolis and St. Paul; and Rice Memorial
Hospital, Willmar will receive simulation training; trainees will have the opportunity to
earn national certifications in pediatric advanced life support, advanced cardiac life
support, and basic life support.
Local contact: Lynn Johnson, Director of Nursing, 320-231-6034.
* We-no-nah Canoe, Inc./Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical, $321,723.
Grant will provide 125 We-noh-nah production, maintenance, office, administration and
management employees with training in composite technology, lean manufacturing, and
soft skills. Staff training will be required to implement process documentation and a new
business information system. Relocation of the Canadian division to Winona is expected
to add over 50 new positions.
Local contact: Barb Breza, Custom Consultant, 507-453-2744.
* L&M Radiator/Hibbing Community College, $164,112. Grant will provide more than
250 L&M Radiator employees with entry-level and advanced training and retraining in the
latest welding technology. Hibbing Community College will develop welding
apprenticeship and industrial awareness programs. In addition, L&M Radiator anticipates
hiring more than 70 new employees over the three-year project.
Local contact: Mary Brandt, Customized Training, 218-262-6785.
* Creative Carton and Rapid Packaging/Dunwoody College of Technology, $318,637.
Grant will support computer-based training, classroom training and hands-on learning in
lean manufacturing for small Brooklyn Park-based manufacturing company. About 159
production, distribution, maintenance, customer service and managerial employees will
earn lean-manufacturing credit certificates as a result of the training.
Local contact: John Miller, Vice President, 612-374-5800
* Team Industries-Cambridge/MMCDC’s Teamworks, $187,546. Grant will help
manufacturer Team Industries-Cambridge implement a lean manufacturing process by
using theory, application and job aids to train 250 production, engineering and supervisory
employees. Team Industries in the largest employer in Cambridge. In addition,
Teamworks, a provider of services to dislocated workers, will work to place dislocated
workers in jobs generated by this project.
Local contact: Kathleen Carney, CEO, Teamworks, Inc., 218-732-3622.
* TriVirix/St. Cloud State University, $60,407. Grant will assist small Mille Lacs
County contract manufacturing services company by providing entry-level and advanced
training to 100 employees. In addition, students enrolled in engineering management and
manufacturing engineering programs will have the opportunity to work at TriVirix as onthe-job trainers. Previously a wholly owned unit of Medtronic, Inc., the Milaca plant was
sold to TriVirix International in 2002.
Local contact: Dr. Bantwal Baliga, Associate Professor, St. Cloud State University, 320308-3843.
* Omni-Tract Surgical/Century College, $49,711. Skill enhancement training will be
provided to 45 employees.
Local contact: Mary Ann O’Brien, Dean of Continuing Education, 651-779-3365.
* Mid-West Spring and Stamping/Century College, $40,911. Leadership and technical
training will be provided to 35 employees. Mid-West Spring is a manufacturer of custom
springs, wire forms, and stampings.
Local contact: Mary Ann O’Brien, Dean of Continuing Education, 651-779-3365.
* Healthcare Consortium/Northland Community and Technical College, $49,993.
Eighty employees of Roseau Area Hospital and Homes, and First Care Medical Services
will receive Lean Sigma training, a systematic approach that improves the capability and
contribution of employees.
Local contact: Chad Coauette, Director of Workforce Development, 218-681-0719.
* Steinwall, Inc./Anoka Technical College, $50,000. About 140 employees will receive
training in basic manufacturing skills, such as blueprint reading, quality measurement, and
auditing techniques.
Local contact: Michael Gallagher, Customized Training Program Director, 763-576-4788.
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••••
June Initial Claims for Unemployment Benefits Well Down from
Last Year
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Matt
Kramer announced recently that the unadjusted number of initial claims for unemployment
benefits in June decreased significantly from June 2003. Total claims dropped from 26,407
a year ago to 21,713—a decline of 17.8%. This is the third consecutive month of
substantial improvement. To see monthly (unadjusted) Minnesota Initial Claims data for
2004, 2003 and 2002, please see http://www.mnwfc.org/lmi/ui.
For seasonlly adjusted data, go to http://www.mnwfc.org/lmi/ui/saics.htm.
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••••
JOBZ: Initiative is Quickly Growing Jobs
With 48 completed JOBZ deals completed since the initiative's kick-off in January 2004,
JOBZ is providing a groundswell of job growth in Greater Minnesota. At the local level,
businesses and communities from across the state of Minnesota are responding positively
to the opportunity presented by the Job Opportunity Building Zone (JOBZ) initiative.
As of July 19, with 918 new jobs and 905 retained, jobs attributable to completed JOBZ
deals and over $35 million in capital investment, it's clear JOBZ is providing the kind of
local control and economic incentives for job growth in the 325 subzones located
throughout Greater Minnesota. The pipeline of potential JOBZ deals and job growth is no
less impressive, with many dozens of JOBZ deals making their way through the process
with local communities intent on growing jobs and prosperity.
For ongoing information about JOBZ send an e-mail to [email protected] with
"Subscribe" in the Subject heading. Also, additional information about the "mother of
economic development initiatives" and recent JOBZ deals can be found at http://www.
deed.state.mn.us/bizdev/jobz.htm or by contacting the Department of Employment and
Economic Development (DEED) directly at 1-800-657-3858.
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Development News
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic
Development Receives National Economic Development Award
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED)
analytic efforts to support JOBZ - Minnesota’s tax free zone initiative—have received the
highest award for Outstanding Achievement from ACCRA—a national membership
organization of economic development researchers. The department’s Analysis and
Evaluation Office continues to lead the analytic elements of the JOBZ program.
The award recognizes the integration of important analytic techniques into the
development, implementation, administration and evaluation of JOBZ. Judges were
impressed that the analysts were a critical part of the project team. They also noted the
unique, on-line JOBZ benefit calculator to help program staff, economic developers, and
businesses estimate the tax savings possible when a business receives JOBZ tax-free zone
benefits.
DEED’s project was one of only six recognized at ACCRA’s Annual Conference. The
projects were judged on their contributions to the economic development research field,
innovativeness in approach, implementation or collaborative efforts, responsiveness to
customer needs, and benefits resulting from project implementation.
The ACCRA awards program recognizes the contribution of research activities to the
success of local, regional, or state/provincial economic development initiatives. The
purpose of the award is to increase the quality of economic development research by
identifying meritorious projects and promoting the diffusion of creative ideas for research
activities.
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••••
Premier JOBZ Tax Free Development Subzone Comes on Line in
the Cambridge Opportunity Industrial Park
Ground breaking was held on Monday, June 21 at the entrance to the Cambridge
Opportunity Industrial Park at County Road 34 and 11th Avenue for this $4.1 million
project. Construction began June 7 on extension of city sewer and water lines, as well as
reconstruction of County Road 34 from a two to three lane road and upgrading to a 10-ton
road. The road improvement, plus revised signaling of County Road 34 and MN 95, will
provide improved access to both the park and MN 65 for truck deliveries. All
improvements will be substantially completed by October 31, 2004.
Initial plans for Phase One of the park call for the construction of six buildings. The
building sites allow for the construction of buildings ranging in size from 20,000 sq. ft. to
200,000 sq. ft. The 63 acres of developable land will have a value of over $2.7 million.
The planned construction of an estimated 825,000 sq. ft. of warehouse space will have a
value of approximately $29 million.
East Central Energy, Minnesota’s oldest and third largest consumer-owned electric utility,
which serves the Cambridge area was instrumental in securing a $450,000 interest-free
loan from USDA Rural Development and provided $92,000 in supplemental low-interest
financing to help the City of Cambridge acquire land for the new industrial park. "The
mission of East Central Energy is to enhance the quality of life and provide premier
service to our members," said Henry Fischer, ECE’s Business and Community
Development Manager. "ECE is pleased to assist the City of Cambridge in this effort to
create good jobs for people who choose to live and work in Cambridge."
Stoney Hiljus, Cambridge City Administrator, said the development cost of $4.1 million
can be broken out as $1.6 million in grant funds from the Federal EDA, $.5 million from
the city’s utility funds, and $2 million from bonding.
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••••
Greater Minnesota Economic Development Initiative Touts
Regional Cooperation
Initiative Foundation, DEED, MnSCU Among Partners
A public-private collaborative is promoting a new regional approach to economic
development in Greater Minnesota. The effort was formally announced at the annual
retreat of the Minnesota Initiative Foundations (MIFs) in Brainerd.
The effort is being coordinated under the umbrella of the Regional Economic
Development (RED) Group. Members of the RED Group include business groups,
foundations, education systems, public sector agencies, nonprofits and others. It is funded
by The McKnight Foundation and Blandin Foundation. In addition, each of the members
of RED Group is committed to contributions of financial and human resources.
“RED is an important advance in the way we approach community economic development
because it enables private sector and public and non-profit community development
organizations to concentrate state and local resources more efficiently and effectively,”
said Jim Hoolihan, president of Blandin Foundation. “RED links powerful public and
private resources to the same engine and puts them on the same track, heading in the same
direction.”
Rip Rapson, president of The McKnight Foundation, called RED Group “economic
development with a regional focus. It builds on the economic assets that areas of the state
share, bundles the investments in opportunities that can be sustained in a global
marketplace and aligns local and state agencies, education systems and other economic
development tools in ways that support these investments.”
The six Minnesota Initiative Foundations are independent, philanthropic organizations that
promote economic and social development in Greater Minnesota. Economic development
initiatives in the MIF regions already are underway.
The Little Falls-based Initiative Foundation is building support for a central Minnesota
effort to help technology-based businesses start-up or expand their current operations. The
effort will pair financing partners with entrepreneurs to help them access loan funds,
market high-tech products and improve manufacturing productivity. The foundation hopes
to build regional partnerships that can respond to high-tech opportunities, which often hold
the promise of creating quality jobs with benefits.
“The RED Group will focus Minnesota’s financing dollars and technical assistance on
projects that make sense for our communities,” said Kathy Gaalswyk, Initiative
Foundation president. “This is a rare partnership where all the major economic players are
joining forces to support local business ownership and good-paying jobs.”
An important RED Group role in the effort is to be a catalyst for the kind of system
changes that will more effectively support economic development in Greater Minnesota.
Success in realigning systems already can be seen in cooperative efforts with the state’s
education systems and public agencies. For example, the Minnesota Department of
Employment and Economic Development (DEED) recently announced the creation of six
new positions for regional workforce and economic development specialists. The regions
of the new positions coincide with the six MIF regions.
Another example of RED Group helping to realign systems is in education. The Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU) is dedicating resources to coordinate its
customized training network activity in the MIF regions and the Twin Cities metropolitan
area. The fund will have at least $300,000 annually. It will be used to help coordinate
planning and communication among institutions in a MIF region. The fund also will be
used to help connect the activities of MnSCU institutions in the MIF regions with RED
Group initiatives, employers and business groups, and DEED and other economic
development agencies.
“The fund will help create a single point of contact with MnSCU institutions,” said
Michael Murphy, MnSCU’s associate vice chancellor for strategic partnerships and
workforce development.
“Higher education – whether it is at a MnSCU school, the University of Minnesota, a
private college or a technical or community college – is a critical component of regional
economic development. When these institutions work closely with employers,
communities and organizations like RED Group and the MIFs, we can more efficiently
and effectively educate and train workers and apply research and technical assistance to
economic development initiatives statewide. The fund will help foster this cooperation.”
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••••
Glossary Goes Online for JOBZ Calculator
An enhanced version of the online JOBZ calculator is now live on the JOBZ website. The
main new feature is a glossary designed to make it easier to understand technical terms or
phrases that are used in the calculator. Clicking your mouse either on individual terms
within the calculator or in the adjacent box will cause a definition to appear in the margin.
The definition will remain in the margin until you click on another word, phrase or term
within the calculator. To get a copy of all the calculator definitions, select the glossary link
for a printable glossary page. http://www.mnpro.com/home.asp?TargetFile=taxcalc.asp
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n © 2002 - 2004 Economic Development Association of Minnesota (EDAM). All Rights Reserved.
n

The Developer - August/September 2004

Transcription

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