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<br />SUMMARY OF RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDED STRATEGIES <br />EDA STRATEGIC PLAN 3 <br />The retail market has undergone a shock due to the Coronavirus pandemic. And its effects <br />have differed greatly between business types. A full recovery will take at least a couple of <br />years. In the meantime the pandemic will have shaped consumer preferences and habits <br />in ways that will be longlasting. One significant change may be a further shift away from <br />store-based retail to various retail delivery models. That may slow future new retail <br />development in Elk River for a time. <br />Residential Market Context <br />Residential development has not been sidelined by the pandemic in the same way as the <br />retail sector has. Owner occupied single family homes and townhomes will continue to be <br />in demand, bolstered by the quality of life investments that the City has been making. <br />Based on the 2015 Housing Needs Assessment, and our experience in similarly situated <br />cities, there will be an ongoing demand for a range of multifamily housing products in Elk <br />River. Developers of market rate apartments will be selective about location, seeking <br />areas with a strong set of locational amenities. Locations of interest may include sites near <br />downtown Elk River, or near the Mississippi River or other waterfronts. Such locations will <br />often require redevelopment of already developed properties. For that reason, and <br />because of the high cost of new construction, City financial support will generally be <br />required to make new multifamily development projects financially viable. <br />Industrial Market Context <br />Elk River has a lot to offer industrial businesses. It has excellent access to transportation <br />arteries to the north, south, east and west; an existing concentration of manufacturing <br />businesses; a high quality utility infrastructure including reliable municipal energy; and <br />access to a high quality workforce. For businesses and distributors that primarily serve the <br />Twin Cities Metro, however, there are numerous competing locations that are closer to their <br />customer base. With clear marketing, and improvements to the availability of development <br />sites, new industrial development should continue to occur at a measured pace. <br />Other Research <br />In addition to the investigations and findings detailed above, the Stantec team broadened <br />its understanding of the Elk River economic context, its needs and its opportunities through <br />a number of other avenues. <br />Elk River EDA. The EDA offered its perspectives and insights during an introduction <br />meeting and at the first EDA Workshop. <br />Focus Groups. Three focus groups were convened that focused on Manufacturing and <br />Industry, Downtown Elk River, and Real Estate and Development. <br />Peer city benchmarking. We identified Forest Lake, Oakdale and Chaska as peer cities. <br />For each city we conducted one to two very informative interviews that were two hours in <br />length to explore their management of economic development topics that are important in <br />Elk River. Elk River staff participated in interviews. Interviewees were: