EDSR INFORMATION #1 10-08-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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StarTribune morth metro Good jobs starting to flow in to Brooklyn Park Article by: MARIA ELENA BACA , Star Tribune --Updated: September 29, 2012 - 9:35 PM City credits decades of collaborative work to The city of nearly 77,000 persistently has one of improve business climate. the metro area's higher unemployment rates, at 6.4 percent, according to government data. Brooklyn Park is talking jobs. City officials expect the job growth to continue. Businesses -- finally-- are listening, based on the One of its biggest conquests: the new Target most current jobs figures from the state. corporate office, expected to add 4,000 technology jobs. From mid-2010 to the first quarter of this year, the city added 3,459 jobs, a 14.4 percent uptick. Mayor Jeff Lunde said there was a philosophical That's more, by percent and in raw numbers, than shift in the mid-'90s,when the city demolished the city's suburban neighbors to the north and several apartment complexes on the city's south west, including Maple Grove, Minnetonka, end. Plymouth and Coon Rapids. "We weren't going to go with what was the fad; There's no serendipity here, city officials say, that's how we ended up with all the apartments," noting that the city is cashing in on decades of he said. "At one time, Brooklyn Park was the deliberate planning and more recent work to place to be. We took anything people brought to engage companies in shaping the business us, and now hindsight is always 20-20, and we've climate. decided to set different standards for how we go about getting people to come who want to be "Looking at the big picture, I think it does here as well." support this long-term vision that the city has held and the City Council has held that they Now the city has 1,500 acres of developable land wanted to turn Brooklyn Park into less of a in its north end, divided by an expanded Hwy. bedroom community and more of an 610. Enthusiasm for the Target project and the employment center," said Jason Aarsvold, potential for a "third downtown" in the adjacent Brooklyn Park community development director. area is contagious; the city hopes to nearly "We're starting to see that come to fruition, double the number of jobs along Hwy. 610,to as particularly with growth in employment." many as 50,000, Lunde said. While job counts fluctuate each quarter,the city As development opportunities come forward, continues to see new records, hitting another Aarsvold said,the city is more likely to approve high of 27,500 in the most recent quarterly projects that are job-rich, such as office buildings report. and manufacturing plants. What officials don't want are businesses that consume a lot of real Many of those new jobs fall into high-pay estate but create few jobs, such as self-storage or sectors including manufacturing, health care, distribution warehouses. management and administrative jobs. The city also has worked to improve communication with businesses to ease startup,