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• K Get Your Business ' ' -r 00 Shovel-Ready Sites Await Buyers Cambridge Opportunity Indus- seal of approval: "So it's not just trial Park sits on 107 acres 45 me or Cambridge saying that miles north of the Twin Cities. this site is shovel-ready, it's the Most of the park is occupied, State of Minnesota." w but 39 acres remain buildable. Why have only 15 municipali- As an enticement to companies ties invested in certification so looking for a place to set up far?The top reason, economic 7aOO FRANCE shop,the site is certified by the development specialists say, is State of Minnesota as "shovel- probably that many areas lack 7700 France Avenue ! ina ready." sites that are close to meeting That amounts to a promise shovel-ready criteria.The major that most of the unpleasant expense lies in preparing such . Exceptional • • surprises known to delay or sites, not in certifying them. A -Cafeteria with on-site catering services. sabotage commercial develop- sluggish market for commer- ments have been anticipated cial real estate has discouraged -Auditorium and conference facilities for . to 75 peo and eliminated.The planning, property owners from investing zoning,surveys,and title work heavily in site preparation when lockerith •• on a shovel-ready site have been -24/7 on-site security. completed. Public infra- structure needs—roads, -Close tomany • nnts, retail,entertainment, • .sewers, utilities—are in Certification functionsve additional . high place or planned out.All necessary environmental as a third-party density studes and soil have been doneanalysis approval. "It's not dust Shovel-ready sites.are [the city] saying that . attractive to corporate C buyers because they NC "take[some] risk out this Site is Shovel- -3601 Minnesota Dr. • Edina .e of development;" says ' Kevin McKinnon,direc- ready. It+s. the State for of the business and ++ from community develop- of Minnesota. ment division of the Minnesota Departmentupdated . of Employment and there are fewer buyers. Economic Development(DEED). Connexus Energy,headquar- •• • • "Businesses know what they're tered in Ramsey,supplies powerareas throughout. getting into when they try to to 60 cities and has offered to _ develop a site:" pay DEED's shovel-ready certifi- include DEED launched Minnesota's cation fee for a certain number of • conference Shovel-Ready Certified Sites cities each year.A 2011 meeting facilities,cafe with on-site program in 2010. Cambridge's to introduce the idea attracted industrial park is one of 15 certi- representatives from 11 cities.Two catering,fitness center with fied sites to date in cities from of them, Isanti and Centerville, locker rooms, Fairmont in the south to Grand went on to earn DEED certifica- two Rapids in the north. tion,says Brian Burandt,Con- •' kin • "I was sold [on the program] nexus manager of business and touch screen directory. right away," says Stan Gustafson community relations. Easy access from 1-494 of the City of Cambridge. "Years No cities took advantage of ago, manufacturers would look Connexus'offer in 2012.As of and France Avenue. at a site and plan to build on it December,the sites in Isanti, three years later. Now they want Centerville,and Cambridge were to choose a site and dig today, still on the market.Of the 15 and know that they won't say DEED-certified sites in the state, •r a • information, contact: 'Whoops."' only St.Cloud's Airport Industrial DEED does not pay for any Park had found any buyers. Last Sherry preparation, paperwork,test- September,German farm-equip- Hastings ing, or physical improvements ment maker Geringhoff bought Senior Vice President 952-829-3468 needed to make a site shovel- an existing 110,000-square-foot ready;all of that is up to the building at the St.Cloud location landowner and the local govern- and announced that it will invest ment. What DEED certification $20 million in a new manufactur- supplies,for a $3,000 applica- ing operation. tion fee, is consulting on how to Though Geringhoff didn't meet the criteria and marketing dig,sources at DEED say that ;� of certified sites on DEED's web the site's shovel-ready status AUENSHUn site and elsewhere. did factor into the company's Commercial Real The great benefit Gustafson decision because it will greatly sees in certification is that it simplify any future expansion. functions as an independent —J. G. FrauenshuhCornmercial.corn MARCH 4013 tcbmag.com TWIN CITIES BUSINESS 85 r.