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GYOZl72dbi"CRk211g (Continued from Page I)
<br />foot facility on 2.48 acres. The company "The people in the Economic
<br />plans to bring 13 jobs to the City and
<br />°xpects to create five more. The site will
<br />.ave room for a furore 5,000 squaze foot
<br />expansion.
<br />^ Alliance Machine Inc., which
<br />machines plastic and metal components
<br />for high-tech manufacturers, is building
<br />an 18,000 squaze foot facility on 2.84
<br />acres. There is room for a future 10,000
<br />square foot addition. Alliance's clients
<br />are in the aerospace, computer, medical
<br />and defense industries. It will bring 30
<br />jobs to Elk River and create nine more.
<br />As far as Alliance Vice President Bryan
<br />Provo is concerned, relocating to Elk
<br />River was a "No-brainer."
<br />Development Division welcomed us with
<br />open arms and were a month ahead of
<br />every other city in giving us a proposal
<br />for financial assistance and a plan,"
<br />says Mr. Provo, whose firm is currently
<br />leasing space in another northwest metro
<br />suburb. "And working with the fire and
<br />building inspectors went very quickly
<br />and smoothly. We looked into moving
<br />to several other cities, but after we'd
<br />worked with Elk River and got such a
<br />positive response from everyone there,
<br />the decision was easy."
<br />Of the four companies to break ground,
<br />one, Classic Acrylics, is building in
<br />the Elk River Business Park, while the
<br />other three are locating in the City's new
<br />Northstar Business Park just off U.S.
<br />Highways 10 and 169.
<br />One of the attractions of the Northstaz
<br />Business Park is that it is located within
<br />walking distance of the future Northstar
<br />Commuter Rail line slated to eventually
<br />make a 40-mile run between downtown
<br />Minneapolis and Big Lake.
<br />"The future Northstar line is a great
<br />feature of that business pazk," says Mr.
<br />Provo of Alliance Machine.
<br />"We definitely have employees who
<br />will use i[, and perhaps even some of
<br />our customers who fly into the airport
<br />will use the rail line to come out to our
<br />facility." ^
<br />New Community Development Director on board
<br />SCOTT CLARK NOW OVERSEES THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT-RELATED FUNCTIONS
<br />hen the City of Elk River hired
<br />Scott Clark in recent months,
<br />it did more than just bring a
<br />~ew face to City Hall.
<br />With Mr. Clark's hiring, the City also
<br />created a new department, called
<br />Community Development, to oversee
<br />four divisions: Economic Development,
<br />Planning, Building and Environmental.
<br />Each division has its own supervisor.
<br />Mr. Clark, who has worked in various
<br />city planning and development
<br />deparanents for three decades, is Elk
<br />River's new Director of Community
<br />Development.
<br />"One of the goals of creating the new
<br />Community Development Department
<br />is to build an even better development
<br />process for developers in Elk River," says
<br />Mr Clark, who has a master's degree in
<br />Urban and Regional Studies. "Some of
<br />the keys we see aze communications and
<br />efficiency."
<br />In the past, developers could enter
<br />the city development process through
<br />ifferent avenues. Now, they will enter
<br />the process in a more uniform way.
<br />"We have excellent people in excellent
<br />divisions, and my job is to make sure
<br />that we create an efficient system and
<br />process for developers to follow," says
<br />Mr. Clark. "And once the City Council
<br />sets the City's goals and strategies for
<br />development, we will be committed to
<br />following and implementing those as one
<br />department, with the different divisions
<br />performing their part of the job."
<br />For example, the Economic Development
<br />Division will continue to make efforts to
<br />attract light industrial businesses to the
<br />cmnmunity's industrial parks, as well as
<br />explain possible financial assistance plans
<br />to prospective businesses.
<br />Mr. Clark arrived in Elk River in recent
<br />months with plenty of knowledge and
<br />years of experience concerning city
<br />development issues.
<br />For 27 years, he worked for the city
<br />of Brooklyn Park, where he was both
<br />the Deputy Community Development
<br />Director and the Director of Economic
<br />Development.
<br />In addition to day-to-day development
<br />issues, Mr. Clark was involved in two
<br />major efforts: The development of
<br />industrial properties along the new
<br />Highway 610 corridor, including the
<br />development of
<br />a 500,000 square
<br />foot financial
<br />office building
<br />for Target
<br />Corp.; and the
<br />Village North
<br />redevelopment
<br />project, a 150-
<br />acre rundown
<br />retail area
<br />that will be
<br />transformed into 500 units of new
<br />housing and some retail.
<br />Mr. Clark also spent ayear-and-a-half as
<br />the Community Development Director in
<br />Arden Hills, where the city is engaged in
<br />an ongoing effort to develop 450 acres of
<br />]and that has long been part of the U. S.
<br />Army's ammunition plant. The project
<br />is expected to create 2,500 housing
<br />units, light industrial projects and sotme
<br />retail. When completed, the overall
<br />development should generate $800
<br />million of real estate value.
<br />As For his new job in Elk River, Mr.
<br />Clark said he's bullish on the city's
<br />prospects for continued success in
<br />attracting businesses, including light
<br />industrial companies.
<br />Pleare see "Community"nn Page 3
<br />City of Elk River Economic Development Winter 2005
<br />Scott Clark
<br />
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