HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-19-2015
M EMORANDUM
To: Economic Development Commission
From: Brian Beeman, Business Development Coordinator
Re: March Update
Date: 3-19-15
Dear Commissioners,
Crossroad Pointe Redevelopment Project
Since the February 20, 2015 EDC meeting staff has been busy contacting developers to
attract interest in the 4.25 acre Crossroad Pointe Redevelopment site. The group
interested in building a medical facility has not been able to gain interest from medical
users for the Mounds View area. As a result, staff has been marketing the site to other
developers through a variety of methods including: Facebook, LinkedIn, the city
website, direct email, and phone calls. If you have any direct contacts with developers
or have any recommendations on other methods to attract a developer to the site, we
are open to hearing your ideas. So far, there has been interest in a medical facility,
mixed-use, assisted living, storage units, and a commercial daycare.
Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) Visits
BR&E visits have been completed with Medtronic, FedTech, Bio-Clean, Dymax,
McDonald’s, and MFI.
Medtronic has about 4,100 employees and 2,200 sales associates. They meet with 400
clients each year at the Mounds View site and stated the need for more hotels in the
area. They have a bank, daycare, fitness center, 1000 seating capacity cafeteria, and
medical clinic as well as one of the busiest Caribou Coffee stores in the region. The
company started in 1946 making medical devices such as cardiac events, pacers,
cervical disks, vascular repair, etc. They do business in 160 countries and said the
industry is growing and will continue to grow. They are at about 80% capacity in the
current three towers stating that they won’t build the fourth tower until all eight sites are
to capacity. The Mounds View location is their largest facility of eight sites.
FedTech started in 1996 as a metal shop and currently does fabrication, water laser,
plumbing, steel, armored plates, and they work in all industries. They have 85 full time
employees and will be hiring five more this year. Most employees live within a 10 mile
radius. FedTech is growing and in order to make room for their continued expansion
they will not be renewing the lease for Dymax whose lease expires February 2016.
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 2 of 7
Bio-Clean started in 1981 cleaning semi-trucks. Since then, they have formulated a
proprietary environmentally friendly washing solution washing vehicles for 400 clients
with companies such as UPS, Federal Express, USPS, Coco-Cola, Schools, etc. They
are in 30 states and have 50 companies including three in Australia. There are 25
employees at the Mounds View site. They hold a convention each year at the Mermaid
for fleet wash companies and they would like to purchase the Skyline Motel for a
second building. However, Skyline’s price is unreasonable and they are not willing to
negotiate. As a result, they may decide to build in Eden Prairie. The owner will be back
in April from Florida to start talks again.
Dymax started in 1981. The parent company is Dymax Holdings, LLC and Dymax
Service, LLC & High Voltage Service are subsidiaries. Their service provides for more
efficient electrical equipment and repair, and they also conduct electrical audits. Nearly
any company that has electrical efficiency needs is their client. They are entering the
solar and wind markets. High Voltage Service, LLC currently has 15 full-time and one
part-time employee and they are looking to add two more this year. Dymax has four full-
time and one part-time employee. Since their lease ends February 2016, they have not
indicated their plans for a new location. I have provided them some options to stay in
Mounds View. We’d like to keep them here if we can.
McDonald’s has 10 full-time and 45 part-time employees and they are looking to hire 10
more this year. Many of their employees come in the form of referrals from Irondale
High School. Managers are required to attend several weeks of training both on-line and
on location at Hamburger University in Illinois. They see trends in their industry
increasingly using technology such as self-ordering kiosks. The drive-thru traffic is
increasing. Their standard is to rebuild the facility every 30 years and major
renovations/remodel every seven years. They said the city is great to work with good
business support. They couldn’t think of any city weaknesses.
MFI & Central Sandblasting has been family owned since 1967. The Herbst family built
the Mermaid then sold it in the 1950’s. In 1967 they started Central Sandblasting and in
2013 they purchased the adjacent building and started MFI January 2, 2014. They have
done work for the Viking’s, Gophers, and Twins stadiums. They are currently
manufacturing the roof for the Viking’s stadium. They have also done work for nuclear
facilities like Chernobyl in Russia and Japan as well as many commercial and military
contracts. They have seven full-time employees. Central Sandblasting has 40 full-time
employees. They have a need for specialized painters and see the industry gradually
increasing. They didn’t lay anyone off during the great recession. They are interested in
constructing a 3,000 sq. ft. expansion this year to handle the additional work load. City
staff is aware of this and is prepared to hear back from them.
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 3 of 7
A. Rice Creek Commons (TCAAP) Development Update
Below is the latest rendering of the Rice Creek Commons layout.
The aerial view looking southeast across the newest TCAAP master plan was drawn by Cuningham Group
for the city of Arden Hills and Ramsey County after months of gathering input from residents, real estate
experts and government officials.
Remediation activities are expected to be completed on the TCAAP site by October
2015. The final design will begin April 2015 with construction starting in the spring of
2016 and final completion late 2016.
On February 2, 2015 Ramsey County, Arden Hills, and engineers held a meeting at the
Mermaid regarding the County Road H / 35W intersection improvements showing the
preliminary construction layout (attached) which indicate the closure of Clifton Drive and
a driveway to the BP gas station. Mounds View business owners affected by the County
Rd H improvements were in attendance and have expressed their concerns of the street
closings to both city staff and the county Project Manager.
The preliminary plans were designed from a traffic management perspective. However,
the businesses believe that the street closures will cause them harm and inconvenience
to other businesses that use Clifton Drive to access 35W. City Administrator, Jim
Ericson has contacted the county through written correspondence. The county met with
the city proposing some alternatives to the Clifton Drive closure. Those alternatives
were presented to the affected businesses March 12 at the Mermaid. Mounds View has
been a strong supporter of the TCAAP redevelopment over the years. Below is the
correspondence from Ramsey County after the March 12 meeting with businesses:
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 4 of 7
Good afternoon.
First off, we again wanted to thank you for taking the time to join us this morning at the stakeholder
meeting. Your input is valuable as we look for solutions and further the design of the project.
Attached is a contact list of those who were in attendance today, and their respective email addresses.
Also attached is a plan view of the project, narrowed down to focus on the County Rd H corridor.
While much was discussed at the meeting today, one item that was asked about were the accidents at
the intersection of County Rd H and Hwy 10. Reviewing the traffic data, in the last 3 years, 35 crashes
were reported, and 12 of which were injury crashes. No fatalities were reported.
The primary concern we heard at the meeting today was a desire to maintain left out access from Clifton
Drive to eastbound County Rd H. We will be looking at options to preserve this movement,
understanding there will likely be additional impacts to neighboring properties. Alternatives will be
discussed within Ramsey County, City of Mounds View and MnDOT. We expect that within 2-3 weeks,
we will know enough to schedule another stakeholder meeting, perhaps in the first week or two of April.
Again, as things progress, we will establish a meeting time and communicate that to all stakeholders.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us. However, feel confident knowing that we will work to keep
all of the stakeholders informed as the project progresses.
Best regards,
Nicole Gulick
B. Mounds View Project Updates
Biolife. Construction of the new Biolife facility is expected to open July 2015 and is on
schedule. This building will be about a $6 million investment.
Bel Rae Senior Residential Facility (Coventry). Ebenezer, the management company,
has stated that they have 18 residents signed up as of last week. The expected
completion date is Mid-April 2015. A special private tour will be provided to the City
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Council, staff and Commissioners of their new building on Monday, March 23 at
5pm. There should be plenty of parking at the site or on the adjacent lots that they are
using during construction.
C. Snyder Building
Staff is in regular contact with the realtor offering ideas and leads. The main issue is the
price and lack of parking. The asking price is $2.5 mill and the lease is over $14 p/sq. ft.
Many businesses like the location but can’t afford the price and/or require more parking
space.
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 5 of 7
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D. 17 Annual North Metro Community Home & Garden Show
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The 17 Annual North Metro Home & Garden Show was held Saturday, February 28,
2015 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the National Sports Center’s Sport Expo Center, in
Blaine, MN. Based on the numbers – 23% of attendees were from Blaine, 14% from
Mounds View, and 10% from Fridley. If we apply these numbers to the 625 attendees,
Blaine had 145 residents attend, Mounds View over 85 and Fridley over 60.
Non-Scientific Results
Home and Garden Show Results
Attendance by City -2015
Total of 156 slips returned
City Name New Brighton 6
#
Cambridge 3
Fridley 15
Roseville 1
Blaine 37
Circle Pines 1
Coon Rapids 13
Elk River 2
Moundsview 22
Anoka 2
E Bethel 3
Monticello 1
Brooklyn Park 5
North Branch 1
Champlin 3
St Paul 3
Columbia Hts 7
Hibbing 2
Ramsey 1
Stacy 1
Mpls 5
Wyoming 2
Crookston 1
Cedar 1
Ham Lake 5
Spring Lake Pk 2
Andover 4
No address 7
Comments: Thank You, Great Show
E. Mounds View Business Council Meeting
The guest speaker for the March 11, 2015 MV Business Council Meeting was Toby
Madden of the Federal Reserve (Minneapolis). Key points from this discussion:
1. Finding employees is the biggest problem; there is a shortage of a skilled labor
force. Companies need employees who are specialized in CNC machining, IT,
Medical, etc. As the Baby Boomers retire there are not enough workers to
replace them. However;
2. People are working longer because they didn’t anticipate the increased costs of
retirement and they are also living longer.
3. Immigration is trending upwards which causes the need for more housing, they
have ties to their old country. This correlates to trade, which correlates to wealth.
4. The economic expansion will continue through 2015. However, there are risks
such as: public policy and global events.
5. There is 2% growth in MN and with no higher wage growth, this keeps inflation
down. We are seeing expansion in commercial, service, and retail which hasn’t
yet reached its peak. Apartment construction is at its peak.
6. In order to create jobs; 1) the value added by the employee must be greater than
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 6 of 7
the cost, translating in to making the employees more productive. 2) The
employees must see the value compared to the benefit. Education equals jobs.
7. Taking all of this information into account, Mr. Madden sees the next recession
starting sometime in 2016.
The next MV Business Council meeting will be April 8. At 7:30 a.m. at the MV
Community Center. It is expected that someone from the Ramsey County Library
system will be speaking.
F. Mounds View – A History
Copies of the “Mounds View – A History” are available at City Hall for a cost of $15 per
copy. Please spread the word. http://www.ci.mounds-
view.mn.us/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={A0648267-AC77-452E-BBA6-FD649AE07337}
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G. 11 Annual Town Hall Meeting
The City of Mounds View will be holding its 11th annual Town Hall Meeting on Monday,
March 30, 2015, at Mounds View City Hall, located at 2401 County Road 10. As in
past years, there will be displays and city department exhibits. The City will also give a
short presentation to discuss the vision and goals of the City for 2015. If you are not
able to attend in person, the meeting will be broadcast live on Channel 16, web
streamed online and replayed on the cable channel and available for on demand web
replay.
There will be ample opportunities to ask questions of the Mounds View City Council and
City Staff. For more information, please contact Mounds View City Hall at 763-717-
4000. Below is the agenda of events:
6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. City Exhibits
6:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m. Award Presentations
6:15 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Mayor’s City Address
6:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Vision, Mission and Goals for 2015 Presentation
7:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Final Thoughts and Questions
8:30 p.m. Town Hall Meeting Adjourns
Promotional Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUXfyJnudg
Reports of Staff
March 20, 2015
Page 7 of 7
H. Upcoming EDC Meetings
The March EDC meeting has been canceled. I anticipate that the April EDC meeting will
be canceled as well. I will notify all EDC Members as it gets closer to the April meeting
whether or not we will be holding that meeting.
______________________________
Brian Beeman
Business Development Coordinator