INFORMATION #1 EDSR 01-14-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REJournals.com -Big Lake draws attention as commuter rail terminus, but development e... Page 2 of 3 who need to expand but find themselves landlocked or priced out of their current markets. * Minneapolis workers have been flocking to the area, trading a longer commute for better house prices and a more relaxed lifestyle. * The area is on major routes to cabin country, giving it exposure to metro workers and business owners looking for new options. While it's hard to break out the impact of any given factor, their cumulative effect has been felt for three decades. The state indicates Sherburne County's population is projected to grow 106 percent, to 175,410 by 2035, while Wright County could grow 111 percent, to 241,850 people. But that growth isn't evenly distributed. "We've seen all of these wonderful things happen all around us," Heitz says, referring to a "triangle of wealth," anchored by Monticello, Elk River and Becker. He says those three communities are each armed with a large power plant that provides cheap energy and the bulk of the property tax base for their cities. That has helped those communities score major commercial and industrial projects, as well as housing and the familiar markers of economic arrival: big box retailers Target and Wal-Mart. Big Lake hasn't seen those successes yet. Heitz says that one reason is perception. Elk River and the surrounding township have combined their populations to hit nearly 20,000 people, and are projected to double in size by 2035. Big Lake and Big Lake Township operate separately, so people -and potential businesses -see the city's population pegged at 9,200 and don't realize that when combined with the township it is comparable to Elk River. And while Highway 10, which runs along the train route, is a busy thoroughfare, it runs in the shadow of I-94, where traffic is heaviest, land is most expensive and developers most want to be. The old perceptions are starting to change, however. Just ask ]im Brown. Brown saw the potential in the area years ago when he worked for the county planning department. He entered private development and today is vice president of Dynamics Design and Land Co. in Big Lake. He and company president Marly Glines have spent years working on the Big Lake Marketplace, a commercial development on Highway 10. They started buying up land and knocking on the doors of restaurant owners, retailers and all the usual players involved in turning a small town crossroads into a consumer spending hub. Brown says a key victory came when the CentraCare Health System, the Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital District and the Monticello-Buffalo Clinic teamed up to create a new clinic and chose the Marketplace as the best location. The Big Lake Clinic opened at the end of 2007 with four physicians and plans to grow the patient base to 10,000. "That was the thing that really moved things along," Brown says. The development now has nine buildings either filled or under construction and seven more projects in discussions. Thares agrees that the perception of the area has changed a lot since he arrived nearly a decade ago -and so has his job. "It feels more like what I wanted to be doing," he says. "When I started, the industrial park was there but there was nothing in it. I had to really hustle and meet with people and put a lot of miles on my car." Now the 20-acre industrial park is 75 percent occupied and the city is working on more sites. There still is a bedroom community feel in Big Lake, says Cameron Macht, regional statistician for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and an expert on trends in the area. He notes there are http://www.mrej.com/story.cfm?Market=MN&StoryID=15395 1/7/2008