Minnesota Business Developments

by Mary Benton Hummel - benton.hummel@state.mn.us
March 2009

Northern

Royalton, Tofte, Virginia, and Wadena all received grants from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). In Royalton Newman Industries received a $250,000 grant to purchase machinery and equipment to help retain 33 jobs and create five more. Tofte Township will receive $41,800 to install a biomass pellet boiler at the Birch Grove Center building which the township owns. The building is leased by the township and houses a charter school, community center, senior center, and a hostel. Independent School District 2142 in Virginia is requesting $284,750 to convert seven schools and the district office to use renewable heating energy products. The City of Wadena received $100,000 to acquire, demolish, and handle infrastructure costs associated with the old Peterson-Biddick Grain Elevator site. The redeveloped site will include an indoor/outdoor market and a public open-air museum.

Central

The City of Glencoe has received a grant of $425,000 from DEED to help redevelop the site of a former school. It will become a city center and include a city hall, library, senior center, and office space for the Chamber of Commerce. The City of Alexandria may provide tax help for the expansion of Douglas Machine which is located there. The company plans to build a new 26,000-square-foot plant which is anticipated to create 10 to 12 new jobs over the next two years. The City of Hutchinson has received $250,000 from DEED to assist with infrastructure costs for a new 68-acre industrial park. The City of Milaca has been awarded $33,400 in redevelopment funds for a former creamery and drying plant site that will become an office and showroom for a local lumber company and an auto repair business. Epitopix in Willmar recently announced plans to expand their operation since they have received a license to produce a bovine e-coli vaccine. In the past year their employment has gone from 20 to 30 employees. The City of Waite Park received a grant of $1,294,235 to assist with redeveloping a 17.5-acre site. The site will go from the current 38 single-family homes to 273 housing units and 86,000 feet of commercial space with as many as 66 new jobs.

Twin Cities Metro

The City of Minneapolis received a $170,000 grant from DEED for infrastructure costs to redevelop a 2.2 acre site into a 31,400 square foot commercial office building. Minneapolis also received a $151,938 DEED grant to assist with the infrastructure costs of developing the former Pillsbury A Mill site into 93,800 square feet of commercial space and 308 housing units in this first phase which should create 24 new jobs. The City of Saint Paul received $185,000 from DEED in redevelopment funds for infrastructure costs associated with redeveloping the Koch-Mobil bulk fuel storage facility that will become a 13,345 foot grocery store. Saint Paul also received $550,000 from DEED for infrastructure improvements to the 2.1 acre site of a former public safety building. Plans for the site include apartments, a hotel, and a grocery store, all of which should create 89 new jobs. Forest Lake has been awarded $897,928 by DEED for infrastructure improvements to the mostly vacant Northland Mall. The improvements will include changes to Highway 61 to ease access to Northland Mall.

Southern

Wind Energy Services is poised to occupy space in the City of Worthington’s bioscience incubator. WES would use a 5,000 square foot segment of the 15,000 square foot incubator as a home base for a wind turbine repair facility.