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Tuesday, October 02, 2001 <br /> <br />Ms. Catherine Mehelich <br />Dkector of Economic Development <br />City of Elk P, iver <br />13065 Orono Parkway <br />PO Box 490 <br />Elk River, Minnesota 55330 <br /> <br />BROOKSTONE, 1NC. <br /> <br />7400 Metro Blvd., <br />Edina, M~nnesoXa 55439 <br />6 I2,837.9167 phone <br />612.837.8010 fax <br /> <br />Dear Cathy: <br /> <br />Furtller to numerous discussions with the City of Etk River's planning director, Michele <br />McPherson, and our scheduled appearance before the EDA of the City of Elk River on Monday, <br />October 8~, I am writing this letter to state the position of the Elk River Business Park owners with <br />regard to the proposed modifications to file permitted and condition~ use sections of the B-P <br />Business Park District. Our response to date has been based upon concerns we have had with the <br />limitation on the amount of warehouse space in our office/warehouse buildings. We appreciate the <br />opportunity to work together with you on this issue and to present our point of view to various <br />approval groups. <br /> <br />While we clearly understand the City's deske to maximize job growth and job opportunities within <br />the city, from the very beginning, we envisioned both build-to-suit and multi-tenant <br />office/warehouse buildings. While not in any way a fu'm plan, a conceptual plan showing buildings <br />ranging from 30-60,000 square feet were laid out in the various parcels as we worked our way <br />through the approval processes. Throughout the Twin Cities, office/warehouse buildings are a mix <br />of, to one degree or another, finished and unfinished spaces. The finished spaces and these are <br />generally all permitted uses under your zoning by4aws, include offices, showroom and laboratory <br />and other highly finished work areas. The unfinished areas, that is the warehouse portion of the <br />office/warehouse term, include pure warehousing and distribution, shipping and receiving facLlities, <br />light manufacturing, repair and maintenance, vehicular storage, and research and testing. On some <br />occasions, the unfinished area is upgraded to include air conditioning, a higher level of lighting, etc. <br />and in some cases, whether for manufacturing or warehousing, is left in a more warehouse form. <br /> <br />While manufacturing is generally a part of most business parks, given that approximately 16% of <br />overall employment in this Country is accounted for by the manufacturing sector and given further <br />the significant amount of manufacturing that has moved overseas, the dominant use in the <br />unfinished portion of office/warehouse buildings is not manufacturing but ati of the other industrial <br />uses mentioned above. The finish percentages for office and showroom spaces are generally higher <br />in locations within close proximity to downtown areas and major metropolitan landmarks suSh as <br />airports, major shopping facilities, and also at locations having some commercial aspect to them. <br />This location does not offer the proximity to major landmarks but it does have a commercial aspect <br />to it given the exposure of at least some portion of tile buildings to highway 169 together with the <br />adjacency to the retail development to the north. However, generally, the kinds of <br /> <br /> <br />