7.0. EDSR 11-04-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Due north: Promise of commuter rail, diminishing open space contribute to rising land val... Page 1 of 3 The Minneapolis/St.Paul Business Journal-October 17,2005 http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2005/10/17/focusl.html • I'•:. ATIC I rrifE Wilk KAMA*V,PArt,S b t 7 Web exclusive Main Street Hotspots We find the best job markets among the nation's small towns and cities. C ' » Find out more » Best towns with up to 50,000 jobs I » Best towns with up to 100,000 jobs f : M " e Best towns with up to 250,000 jobs IN DEPTH: COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE: NORTHWEST From the October 14,2005 print edition Due north: Promise of commuter rail, diminishing open space contribute to rising land values in northwest 'burbs 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 left 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 10 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 40-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 fiapromise of those sites. There are a number of reasons that development has been so active in the area,however. A major driver, according to developers and business owners, is the existence of major roadways such as I-94 and Interstate http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2005/10/17/focusl.html?t=printable 10/18/2005