Laserfiche WebLink
Competitors <br />Some communities that have competed head to head with Elk River fox economic development <br />opportunities in the past have become less significant competitive threats, while other communities <br />have emerged as strong new competition. <br />Fox this research effort, we analyzed these past, present and potential competitors: <br />^ Andover ^ Monticello <br />^ Anoka ^ Osseo <br />^ Big Lake ^ Otsego <br />^ Dayton ^ Ramsey <br />^ Maple Grove ^ Rogers/Hassan Township <br />With a few exceptions, City Staff reports that Elk River has rarely competed head-to-head fox <br />projects in recent years with Anoka, Maple Grove and Rogers. Some of that is probably because <br />those communities have not usually been targeting the same small to medium-sized light industrial <br />market that Elk River has been targeting. It might also be because land costs and lease rates axe <br />substantially higher in mature communities like Anoka and Maple Grove. It might also be because <br />some users seeking sites closer to the metro core don't even consider Elk River. <br />Available industrial land is also dwindling in Anoka and Maple Grove. But, if Elk River decides to <br />target larger companies, the City could find itself competing directly with these communities, as it <br />did fox the Great River Energy campus. However, that's not necessarily a bad thing because Elk <br />River might have cost advantages, according to several of the people with whom we spoke. <br />The fast-growing communities of Big Lake, Otsego and Ramsey are likely to be more frequent <br />direct competitors in the future. In particular, Big Lake-based Dynamics Design & Land Co. <br />LLC's new Big Lake Marketplace and Duke Realty Corp.'s new Gateway North Business <br />Center in Otsego present significant potential competition for industrial users. Nor should other <br />nearby communities be ignored -especially those along the Northwest corridor, such as <br />Monticello, which is actively developing an additional 120 acres for industrial users. <br />Andover, Big Lake (with the assistance of Connexus Energy) and Ramsey have regularly been <br />running four-color advertising in the Minnesota Real Estate Journal. Andover has been touting its <br />Andover Station and Andover Station North projects with a tag line "The North Metro has a new <br />player." <br />(Please see Appendix F fox detaIled competitor information.) <br />6 <br />