Minnesota Business Developments

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

Northern

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) awarded the Grand Rapids Economic Development Authority (EDA) funding of $56,250 from the Contamination Cleanup Grant program for a 223-acre former manufacturing facility contaminated by petroleum and other toxins. The site will be redeveloped into an Eco-Industrial Park, which is projected to create 70 new jobs.

Duluth EDA was awarded $46,500 in investigation funds, from DEED’s Contamination Cleanup Grant program, for a 5.6-acre site formerly used as a bulk cement product shipping, storage, and packaging facility. Proposed development includes a hotel and restaurant complex and retail space and is expected to result in 100 new jobs.

The Dennis Drummond Wine Co. plans to build a $2 million facility that accommodates winemaking, wine tasting, retail sales, a bistro, and an event center for meetings and weddings. Construction on the project, which is located south of Brainerd, is expected to begin this fall with completion anticipated in April 2011. The company plans to create about 10 new jobs with an additional 20 to 30 jobs for events.

Central

Construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2011 on a $2.4 million entrepreneurship center and technology business incubator at the Pine Technical College in Pine City. The project involves the construction of an 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot facility for new or startup businesses in technology and manufacturing industries. Additionally, the project involves the remodeling of about 2,100 square feet of the college for offices and classrooms. The entire project is expected to create 800 new jobs over 20 years.

Plans are under way for the construction of a new fire station — Station No. 3 — at the corner of County Roads 9 and 45 in Isanti County. The 4,800-square-foot, $423,000 facility will house four emergency vehicles: a fire engine, a tank truck, a wild-land fire truck and a medical/rescue unit. The new station will create several new firefighter jobs.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2010, in Litchfield for a $5.4 million expansion at Minnesota Rubber and Plastics, a manufacturer of precision-made rubber and plastic components and assemblies. The 20,000-square-foot expansion will house the plant’s shipping, receiving, baking, washing and finishing processes, making room for enhancements to its growing medical manufacturing area. The expansion will create 100 to 150 new jobs over the next three to five years. The company currently employs 200 people at its Litchfield facility.

Twin Cities Metro

Brooklyn Center EDA was awarded $50,000 in investigation funds, from DEED’s Contamination Cleanup Grant program, for a 5.1-acre former manufacturing site. Proposed development includes a 60,000-square-foot multi-tenant light industrial building that is expected to create eight new jobs and retain 70 jobs.

St. Paul Port Authority was awarded $950,000 in cleanup funds, from DEED’s Contamination Cleanup Grant program, for a 30.56-acre site. Formerly the site of residences, businesses, factories, and offices, the site will be redeveloped as 452,200 square feet of light industrial, commercial, and office space. The new development is anticipated to create 508 new jobs and retain 254 jobs.

St. Paul Port Authority was awarded $600,000 in cleanup funds, from DEED’s Contamination Cleanup Grant program, for a 5.21-acre site. The site was formerly used as a truck terminal and will be redeveloped into 80,000 square feet of commercial/industrial space. Redevelopment is expected to create 216 jobs.

Rudolph Technologies is moving its manufacturing operations for its metrology division from New Jersey to Bloomington, Minn. The division makes tools that measure the thickness of films on silicon wafers. The company, which currently has about 140 employees in Minnesota, added 30 jobs since the first of the year and expects to add an additional 10 jobs by the end of the year.

Construction is under way on a 177,000-square-foot SuperTarget in Woodbury. The store will anchor the 40-acre Commerce Hill development. Upon completion in 2011, the store will create approximately 250 jobs.

Costco, a warehouse retailer, plans to open a new store in Burnsville by the end of the year. The company purchased the 15.5-acre site of the former Grossman Chevrolet Cadillac dealership, and it plans to aggressively ready the facility into a new 151,000-square-foot store that will open by Thanksgiving. The company has five other metro locations — St. Louis Park, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Eden Prairie, and Coon Rapids.

Southern

The Mayo Clinic plans to build a new medical center in Cannon Falls to replace the current Cannon Falls Medical Center. The new facility will create 140 medical jobs. Construction is expected to begin in 2013.

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