5.0. EDSR 06-14-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Orluck Industries plans to occupy about 13,000 square feet in its new Elk River facility,with the • remaining roughly 10,000 square feet leased to business park district eligible tenants. The city's highly competitive financing package starts with the site. It's a choice parcel at the southwest corner of Joplin Street and Business Center Drive,one of Elk River's most desirable new business addresses. But,the way the site is being financed—by writing down the land costs to$1 —is what is making the entire financial package viable. The property was owned by the City of Elk River, which had purchased it from Sherburne County upon tax forfeiture in 2001. City staff first proposed an Orluck Industries project for the site in 2002. But,plans stalled as the recession took hold. Elk River was "very cooperative" Fortunately,the city's patience paid off.When the project got back on track early this year,city staff proposed that tax abatement financicould enable the city to sell the lot to Orluck Industries for$1.The"instant equity"t 4j) ,led by becoming the owner of the lot, along with another$50,000 in owner equity, • •re, . • 4 fy a$1.256 million loan from The Bank of Elk River to cover the costs of construe 3 "It gets them in for very little money down,"Ms. Mehelich says. The city and county agreed to evenly split the$201,520 cost of the land. That required the • approval of the Elk River Economic Development Authority,the Elk River City Council,the Sherburne County Economic Development Alliance and the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners. The city also needed to amend the underlying land use to Light Industrial from Community Commercial.Ultimately, all of the needed approvals were granted. "The City of Elk River has been very, very cooperative, aggressive and easy to work with,"Mr. Orluck says. "Very professional." In addition to the financing package,Mr. Orluck says he was attracted to Elk River by its convenient location,close to his customers and employees.From a personal standpoint,he says he and many of his employees also prefer the area's less urban lifestyle. "We just like the area,"Mr. Orluck says. "We like the city of Elk River." The city will benefit,too For Elk River, which bills itself as"The Light Industrial Hub of the Northwest Metro,"the clean, high-precision nature of Orluck Industries' business was a good fit with the city's economic development goals. "Those are definitely companies we like to see in Elk River,"Ms. Mehelich says. Although Orluck Industries is a relatively small business, she says, "It's the small to medium-sized companies that keep our economy healthy." •