Minnesota Business Developments

by Rhonda Mix - rhonda.mix@state.mn.us
July 2010

Northern

Pactiv Corp. is expanding its Moorhead plant and adding 25 jobs to its current workforce of 150. The $14.5 million expansion will add three new manufacturing lines to produce molded-fiber, hinged-lid carryout food containers under the brand EarthChoice Fiber Blend Hingeware that is better for the environment than polystyrene containers. The project is slated for completion by October 2010.

Fargo, N.D.,-based Performance Centers Inc., a telemarketing firm, plans to open a call center in downtown Duluth and bring 200 new jobs to the area. The center is expected to open in August this year in the Wells Fargo building. The company, which contracts work for credit card companies, banks, and other financial institutions, chose the Duluth location because of its available workforce.

Groundbreaking is planned for August this year in Mountain Iron for a $3.6 million photovoltaic solar-panel factory for Silicon Energy. The 25,000-square-foot facility is slated for completion in March 2011. Silicon Energy plans to hire 17 to 21 production employees and four or five finance and marketing employees with the potential to add more jobs depending on production demand.

Central

Construction on the new 65,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store in Cambridge is well under way. Located at the Spirit River Crossings development near state Highway Routes 95 and 65, the store is expected to open in September and employ about 100 people.

Twin Cities Metro

Sanimax is expanding its South St. Paul protein processing plant to add office and manufacturing space. The company recycles animal and meat by-products to produce high quality feed ingredients and bio-fuels. The 66,700-square-foot expansion is expected to create 67 new jobs.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to build a new VA clinic in Ramsey. The 20,000-square-foot facility will be located at the northeast corner of Sapphire Street and Civic Center Drive. It is expected to be operational by late summer or early fall 2011.

Minnetronix, a medical device design and manufacturing firm, is expanding its facility in St. Paul by adding 11,800 square feet. The expansion is slated for completion in August this year. It will include space for administrative functions, product design, lab work, and training.

Groundbreaking is planned for the spring of 2011 for an $11 million upgrade to the gorilla exhibit at Como Zoo in St. Paul. The Gorilla Forest project will triple the size of the exhibit and create hundreds of construction jobs.

Life Care Services plans to build an $87 million senior housing development on a 46-acre site in Plymouth. The four-story, 500,000-square-foot project, called Trillium Woods, will include 209 independent-living units, a 44-bed assisted-living and memory-care facility, a clinic, club house with restaurant-style dining, library, café, auditorium, fitness center, indoor pool, whirlpool and private walking trails.

The Minneapolis Public Housing Authority plans to build a $31.6 million senior community center and adjoining memory-care facility northwest of downtown Minneapolis. The project includes a two-story, 47,037-square-foot senior center and a four-story, 44,387-square-foot memory-care center that will include 48 apartments for low-income seniors with dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other memory issues. Groundbreaking is planned for October of this year. The senior complex is slated to open in the spring of 2012.

Southern

Bremer Financial Corp. is expanding with plans to build a new 85,000-square-foot branch bank in Mankato. The Mankato location is expected to open in March 2011 and employ about 20 people. The bank will offer a full range of retail, ag and business banking, mortgage, investments, and insurance products and services.

Construction is under way on an expansion project at the Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort in Granite Falls. The project involves almost doubling the size of the resort’s hotel, casino, and convention hall. Slated for completion in February 2011, the project is estimated to add 40 to 50 jobs to the area.

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