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<br />SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES <br />EDA STRATEGIC PLAN 26 <br />3. LAND AVAILABILITY <br />The availability of land is a key factor in attracting new industrial development, as is the <br />readiness of the land for development. The City of Elk River owns two sites in its <br />Northstar Business Park, a 4-acre parcel and a 12 acre parcel. Additional land for new <br />industrial development is in short supply, as are large sites suitable for industrial <br />development. Two locations have been discussed for future industrial development. 1) <br />Some of the reclaimed land in the City’s gravel mining area can be guided for industrial <br />development, but that will have to wait until the completion of mining in certain areas. 2) <br />Cargill has abundant land holdings along and near 165th Avenue NW, some of which is <br />not currently utilized and would be well suited to industrial development. Elk River staff <br />have not had recent conversations with <br />decision makers at Cargill to discuss <br />Cargill’s plans for this land. <br />Strategies for teeing up land for <br />industrial development was a topic of <br />conversation in our peer cities <br />interviews. Economic development <br />leadership in Oakdale and Chaska had <br />successful track records in establishing <br />an industrial development pipeline in <br />local industrial parks. They had different <br />philosophies regarding whether cities <br />should take ownership of land. But they <br />agreed on core elements of how to make <br />development parcels ready to go, and <br />thereby increase the attractiveness of <br />their industrial parks. <br />Land, with the support of the land owner, <br />should be master-planned with road <br />layouts and conceptual parcels that meet <br />the needs of today’s industrial <br />development market. It should be zoned <br />appropriately. The availability of utilities <br />should be ensured. Decisions should be <br />made concerning how road and utility <br />costs will be shared between the <br />developer and the City. A map of the <br />business park, that clearly indicates <br />development parcels, should be created <br />to convey the availability of land and an organized municipality. (An example of such a <br />map, in North Mankato, is at left.)