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Economic Development Association of Minnesota <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />~,, G, iii ~ ~ ~ ~ ~t,~ ~ <br />~~ ~~ ®. ~. <br />.:_~ <br />Al~l~l~.-n~A~ ISSUE Deve[o~ment News <br />www.edam.org Patience Pays Huge Dividends for Hopkins <br />Back to front laage of The city of Hopkins has been planning for this day for a long time. It <br />The Developer began 10 years ago when Hennepin County Public Works decided <br />to leave its facilities at the southwest corner of Highway 169 and <br />Excelsior Boulevard and make the property available for <br />redevelopment. The city had visions of an office campus but <br />SUPERVALU, the city's largest employer, wanted the land for a new <br />warehouse and distribution facility. <br />.rti4E~;~iir ~L L.'i~~c°. <br />~..~ H~•'H ••x. r..Y <br />The city negotiated a deal. SUPERVALU wou-d vacate its current <br />warehouse (the North Annex) at the northeast corner of Highway <br />169 and Excelsior Boulevard and make that 30-acre property <br />available for redevelopment. The city would establish a TIF district <br />including the new warehouse facility, but SUPERVALU would not <br />receive the increment. Instead, it would be used in part to make road <br />improvements that would be necessary to accommodate a greater <br />intensity of use on the North Annex site. <br />Those improvements were designed to serve an office campus such <br />as the one at that time being discussed as Medica's new corporate <br />campus. That deal was in the final hour when Medica pulled back. It <br />didn't happen, the office market tanked, and the site sat empty and <br />rundown -with one of the most visible locations in Hopkins. The <br />city made the road improvements anyway, in anticipation of what <br />would be needed. <br />http://edam.org/displaycommon.cfin?an=1 &subarticlenbr=191 3/30/2007 <br />