5.0. EDSR 05-12-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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event, advertising, inserts, and articles related to the event. In addition Annie and I will have a marketing booth at the event as well as access to the event's attendee list for follow up marketing efforts. I will be featuring recent development successes as well as welcoming developer proposals for the city's Gateway Business Park. In addition, I was recently asked to speak on a panel of city planning leaders at the Design Build Institute of America (Upper Midwest Region) program on May 21, 2008 featuring the Northstar Commuter Rail and Economic Development Opportunities. Follow up strategies: • I will be directly contacting developers to hold individual luncheons in Elk River to discuss specific development opportunities. • Annie will be coordinating direct mail/newsletter mailings to the attendee list. Commercial/Industrial Sites Inventory Last fall, commercial sites were added to the City's listing of available land/lease sites that is posted on the city website. Annie has been actively conducting an update of the sites inventory which is anticipated for completion next month. Not only does the listing provide an easily- accessible tool for developers, it also allows the Economic Development Division a tool for monitoring the amount of vacant space by building type on a regular basis. Follow up strategies: • Annie will be updating the listings on a quarterly basis. • We will be considering additional features to the listings (e.g. photos) Sportech, Inc. Expansion Groundbreaking Annie and I are working closely with Sportech and Amcon Construction to coordinate a joint groundbreaking ceremony for Sportech's new 80,000-sf corporate headquarters and state-of-the- art manufacturing facility located in the City's Northstar Business Park. The event will include invitations to local and area public officials, including the Commissioner and staff of the MN Dept of Employment & Economic Development. Recent Inquiries/Prospects We have experienced a slowdown in the number of commercial/industrial inquiries relative to the slowdown in the economy, particularly in retail/commercial development. The trend appears to be that developers are more risk-sensitive to undergo land investments or speculative development and axe relying on build-to-suit developments. Recent prospects of note that I continue to work directly with includes a 30,000-sf regional business college, a 200-person software development/data center, maintain contacts made with Target and its broker over the past several months, and maintain contact with a local manufacturer on expansion plans. Staff is awaiting discussion and direction from the City Council and/or EDA and Marketing Committee regarding the following items relative to future marketing strategies: 1) Identify the city's desired "target market" for specific types of commercial and industrial development. 2) Identify desired marketing focus/theme (e.g. Light Industrial Hub, Energy City, etc.) 3) Identify sites for commercial and industrial business park development in order to maintain a sufficient inventory.