5. EDSR 09-11-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Appendix E: Relevant News Articles (cont.) ~~ YIYMEAPD~S~~ P~1 ~t I1.t~ Due north: Promise of commuter rail, diminishing open space contribute to rising land values in northwest 'burbs MinneapolislSt. Paul Business Journal -October 14, 2005 by Elizabeth Millard Contributing writer Tim Yantos still remembers the cornfields. There used to be acres of them in the northwest suburbs, even though the farms were just a short drive from the metro area. But with a proposed Northstar Commuter Rail to snake from St. Cloud to Minneapolis, shrinking land availability throughout the Twin Cities, and a retail and industrial development boom, it looks like the corn will have to come from somewhere else. "Even before the commuter rail stations are built, we're seeing huge developments all along the corridor," said Yantos, Northstar Corridor Project director for Anoka County. "The northwest area is one of the fastest-growing in the state, and even in the country. The desire to live and work in that corridor is driving up the land value." Others in real estate agreed. "Part of the reason there are escalating land prices in the northwest is simply because there isn't much land lefr in the other suburbs," said Chris Little, land specialist at Colliers Turley Martin Tucker in Minneapolis. Contributing factors The 82-mile corridor most affected by these rising land values runs along Highway ro and Interstate 94, from downtown Minneapolis to the St. Cloud area. Now in its initial phase, a commuter rail will run within this corridor on a 4o-mile line, with six stations, including Fridley, Coon Rapids, Anoka and Big Lake. In some ways, the proposed Northstar line and the northwest building boom have fed off each other, rather than one spurring the other's growth. As the northwest corner of the Twin Cities began to develop, proponents of the commuter rail identified future stations based on where the most development was occurring. Once station locations were proposed, developers began planning new residential and commercial projects based on the promise of those sites.