Three Cities Receive Shovel Ready Designation
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For Immediate Release |
Contact: Madeline Koch, 651-398-9459
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DEED Awards Shovel Ready Certification ~Becker, Pine City and Stewartville Certified~
ST. PAUL – Business park developments in three Minnesota cities have been certified for the Shovel Ready Program by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s (DEED) Office of Business Development (OBD). The certifications were awarded to the cities of Becker, Pine City and Stewartville.
“The Shovel Ready Program streamlines much of the work that businesses need to get done before beginning an expansion project,” said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben. “With much of the advance work out of the way, businesses can focus on their plans for growth and job creation.” John Rhodes, a leading national site-location consultant with Moran, Stahl & Boyer of Lakewood Ranch, Fla., works with OBD on the Shovel Ready Program. Since OBD launched the program in 2009, development sites in 15 Minnesota communities have received certification as Shovel Ready. More details on the program are available here.
Becker has access to a labor market of over 98,000 people living within a 15-mile radius and is home to Xcel Energy’s Sherco Power Plant. Our Industrial Park site features new infrastructure improvements in 2011 such as new streets, storm sewer, sanitary sewer extension, water main and a new lift station.
“Obtaining the Shovel Ready designation better positions the city of Becker to attract new business partners to our community. More and more companies are looking for sites where they can start construction as quickly as possible. The Shovel Ready Program gives the city of Becker an overwhelming advantage when it comes to competing with other states for new investments and new jobs. It’s a vital economic development tool that we can put in our toolbox,” said Mayor Jerome Kleis.
Each of the sites within Becker’s Shovel Ready Industrial Park has the potential to access the BNSF rail line from the city-owned rail spur. Directly adjacent to the Becker Industrial Rail Park is TJ Potter Trucking, which specializes in a variety of transportation services such as rail off-loading and reloading capabilities.
For more information contact: Amanda Fiedler, Community Development Coordinator, at 763-200-4246 or afiedler@ci.becker.mn.us Pine City – The 100-plus acre Pine City Technology Park is just 7 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Statistical Area, in southern Pine County, on the Interstate 35 Business Loop through town. Officials are hoping to attract new business to the established industrial park, which has streets, fiber optics, water, sewer, and available tax abatements, loan programs and other incentives. “Pine City is the perfect choice for many businesses,” said Nathan Johnson, city planner for Pine City. “Not only are we midway between the state’s two largest metro areas—the Twin Cities and Twin Ports—we also have a gem of a community complete with picturesque lakes encircling it, a river winding through downtown, a vibrant town square and a superior quality of life.”
The city assets include nationally-recognized, award-winning schools and Pine Technical College, which Community College Week recently named as one of the nation’s fastest-growing two-year colleges. Local contact: Nathan Johnson, City Planner, at 320-629-2575, ext. 105, njohnson@pinecitygov.com Stewartville – Stewartville’s Schumann Business Park has 17.4 “Shovel Ready Certified” lots with an additional 100-plus adjacent acres ready for commercial and industrial development just off of the I-90 and U.S. Hwy. 63 interchange. On the northern edge of Stewartville, the park is 3 miles south of the Rochester International Airport and about 8 miles from downtown Rochester and the world-renowned Mayo Clinic.
“With the passage of the ‘Destination Medical Center’ legislation (www.dmc.mn), Stewartville and the Schumann Business Park site are at the forefront of development in the region” said City Administrator Bill Schimmel Jr. “The site is adjacent to southeast Minnesota’s major transportation routes in every direction, and is just minutes away from an international airport. There are over 185,000 residents in the region with an additional 2.75 million visitors each year in the area. Schumann Business Park is simply one of the most desirable development opportunities in Minnesota, so being certified as Shovel Ready just made sense.” Schimmel continued, “As the region continues to grow, we want to show businesses that Stewartville is ready and open for business.”
Local contact: Chris Giesen, at 507-533-4745, chris.giesen@cedausa.com
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PositivelyMN.
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Upon request, the information in this news release can be made available in alternative
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