Item 5.6 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

OCT 042.;01 BROOKSTONE,INC. • `f #g u/ ; • 7400 Metro Blvd..Suite 212 Edina,Minnesota 55439 612.837.9167 phone 612.837.8010 fax Tuesday, October 02, 2001 Ms. Catherine Mehelich Director of Economic Development City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway PO Box 490 Elk River, Minnesota 55330 Dear Cathy: Further to numerous discussions with the City of Elk River's planning director, Michele McPherson, and our scheduled appearance before the EDA of the City of Elk River on Monday, October 8th, I am writing this letter to state the position of the Elk River Business Park owners with regard to the proposed modifications to the permitted and conditional use sections of the B-P Business Park District. Our response to date has been based upon concerns we have had with the limitation on the amount of warehouse space in our office/warehouse buildings. We appreciate the opportunity to work together with you on this issue and to present our point of view to various approval groups. While we clearly understand the City's desire to maximize job growth and job opportunities within the city, from the very beginning, we envisioned both build-to-suit and multi-tenant office/warehouse buildings. While not in any way a firm plan, a conceptual plan showing buildings ranging from 30-60,000 square feet were laid out in the various parcels as we worked our way through the approval processes. Throughout the Twin Cities, office/warehouse buildings are a mix of, to one degree or another, finished and unfinished spaces. The finished spaces and these are generally all permitted uses under your zoning by-laws, include offices, showroom and laboratory and other highly finished work areas. The unfinished areas, that is the warehouse portion of the office/warehouse term, include pure warehousing and distribution, shipping and receiving facilities, light manufacturing, repair and maintenance, vehicular storage, and research and testing. On some occasions, the unfinished area is upgraded to include air conditioning, a higher level of lighting, etc. and in some cases, whether for manufacturing or warehousing, is left in a more warehouse form. While manufacturing is generally a part of most business parks, given that approximately 16% of overall employment in this Country is accounted for by the manufacturing sector and given further the significant amount of manufacturing that has moved overseas, the dominant use in the unfinished portion of office/warehouse buildings is not manufacturing but all of the other industrial uses mentioned above. The finish percentages for office and showroom spaces are generally higher in locations within close proximity to downtown areas and major metropolitan landmarks such as airports, major shopping facilities, and also at locations having some commercial aspect to them. This location does not offer the proximity to major landmarks but it does have a commercial aspect to it given the exposure of at least some portion of the buildings to highway 169 together with the adjacency to the retail development to the north. However, generally, the kinds of