2018 Annual Report | Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission

AAEDC 2018 An nual Report

Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission 324 Broadway Street, Suite 101 | Alexandria, Minnesota 320.763.4545 | aaedc@alexmn.org www.LivingAlexArea.org

Executive

Director Letter Greetings, Enclosed, please find a copy of the 2018 Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission annual report.

It is the mission of our organization to provide regional leadership in a collaborative effort to facilitate job growth. With that mission in mind, the AAEDC partners with other community organizations to stimulate development of land, infrastructure and community amenities to accommodate economic growth in our area.

2018 was a very impactful year for the Commission as we worked on implementing the strategies written out in our strategic plan. A summary of the AAEDC strategic plan is included in the annual report.

It provides a road map for the future of the Alexandria area’s economic and community development and sets in place the framework for which we do our work.

The publication also highlights the many events, initiatives and business assistance the Commission has engaged in over 2018. Many of the projects were in partnership with a strong network of businesses, community leaders and governmental partners that make our work in economic development meaningful and impactful.

If you have questions about some of these initiatives and projects we have worked on in the last year, please feel free to contact the AAEDC by calling (320) 763-4545 or by emailing aaedc@alexmn.org.

Sincerely,

N ic ole Fe r nhol z Executive Director Alexandria Area EDC

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2018 Board of Directors

Mark Gr andg enett

J oa ni N ie lso n

J u l i e Cri t z

Lake Mary Township

City of Alexandria

Hudson Township

Mark Hi nter mey er

B r uc e M c K ir dy

J e f f Pat i e n ce

Carlos Township

City of Alexandria

City of Alexandria

Community Liaisons:

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•

•

•

•

M ayor S ar a Car ls on City of Alexandria

C om m i s s i oner Owen Mi ller Douglas County

Joe l Dahlhei mer Alexandria Township

Dave Wolf Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association

T a ra Bi tzan Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce

E ddie R ie f

N i co l e Kl i me k

LaGrand Township

Alexandria Township

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Who We Are The mission of the AAEDC is to provide regional leadership in a collaborative effort to facilitate job growth.

The vision of the AAEDC is to see the area as a regional center sustaining a vibrant, growing economy that is attractive to businesses and to a capable, productive workforce.

CORE VALUES • Community | Engage the public, private and nonprofit sectors and work cooperatively to build and maintain effective working relationships.

• Service to Others | Support development efforts that benefit the region and embrace the opportunities they provide.

• Trust | Sustain the belief and confidence in the integrity and reliability of our organization.

• Innovation | Be proactive throughout our region.

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Future Plans The AAEDC has a broad impact in a variety of areas affecting the region’s economic health and vitality, its greatest area of both need and opportunity is workforce development.

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 2017-2019 Workforce Development • Drive a process to create a collective understanding of area labor force needs.

• Develop a process for linking housing needs and community assets to expand workforce housing options in the region.

• Retain more young workers & families in the Alexandria region.

• Expand and diversify the pipeline of skilled workers for the Alexandria area businesses (current and prospective).

Business & Community Development • Create an intentional community for emerging and established businesses to learn and operate in a collaborative, efficient and shared environment.

• Increase accessibility to revolving loan funds for area businesses.

• Expand the Living Alexandria Area campaign to advance marketing to new business prospects.

• Identify opportunities for expanded partnership with area businesses.

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Economic Development

2018 Projects Cultivating and supporting an entrepreneurial spirit is what the Alexandria area is about. Many of the area businesses and companies were started right here. We know how to help hard working people with great innovation and ideas.

Industrial Park: Following the redesign of the industrial land site in 2017 that included the clearing of tress, grading, importing fill sand and erosion control, the Lakes Area Economic Development Authority negotiated and approved the sale of five industrial lots.

The proactive measure previously taken made the industrial land more shovel-ready and appealing to developers.

Unique Opportunity Alexandria, a Minnesota limited liability company constructed a multi family development consisting of an approximate 90,000 square foot three- story apartment building containing 94 units. Total project costs are estimated at $11 million. With the use of TIF, the project will help maintain a balanced supply of housing unit types. In particular, the project will make available 38 units available at no more than 60% of the area median income for Douglas County. Those units will also have rents that are not to exceed the limit as allowed by the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency. Upon completion, the project will add approximately $6.9 million to the City of Alexandria’s tax base.

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Unique Development, LLP constructed a 45,000 square foot, 47 unit affordable multifamily housing facility situated on Douglas County parcel # 63-7000-100, Woodland Heights, located on the east side of Highway 46 (also known as South McKay Avenue). Total project costs are estimated at $5 million. With the assistance of TIF, the project will help maintain a balanced supply of housing unit types at an affordable rated. The project will make available 10 units for households at no more than 50% of the area median income for Douglas County.

In addition, rent restrictions will be enforced so that the units may not exceed those rents as allowed by the MN Housing Finance Agency.

The project will increase the City of Alexandria’s tax base by approximately $3.6 million upon completion.

DNA Landholdings was created to be a property holding entity for Adam & Dave who each own a 50% share in Copper Trail Brewing Company, LLC which they founded in 2016. They requested financing to purchase the building they currently lease for Copper Trail Brewing Company and utilized GAP financing from the Greater Alexandria Industrial Network for assistance with the initial equity in the building.

Total investment at $250,000 with our loan at $37,500.

The Dashery is a men’s clothing stored opened in Glenwood in 2017. To help finance a second location in downtown Alexandria, the Greater Alexandria Industrial Network (GAIN) assisted with a $15,000 GAP loan, the total investment valued at $85,000

Goodneighbor Properties, LLC purchased LAEDA owned industrial lots to construct a 26,300 square foot office warehouse facility that will include office and warehouse space for GoodNeighbor Properties, LLC and C.I. Construction, LLC. Construction began in Fall of 2018 and will be complete in 2019. Estimated property value upon completion is $2.8 million.

NUCO Properties, LLC purchased and remodeled a vacated building at 1103 Broadway Street in Alexandria. To assist with the purchase and remodel costs, the Greater Alexandria Industrial Network provided a $75,000 loan.

Estimated property value upon completion is $1.5 million.

Reprocessed Plastics, Inc located at 8301 County Road 82 NW in Garfield underwent a 9000 square foot expansion on their current facility. The expansion increased the market value of the property to roughly $1,089,000 and generated an increased property tax of $12,000 annually. To help offset the costs of development, the City of Garfield offered an economic tax abatement for 3 years.

The City of Garfield also offered a $75,000 loan to assist with the finance of the expansion.

JTMJ, LLC was formed to serve as a property holding entity for Jake Capistrant who owns 100% of Jake’s Bikes located in Alexandria, MN. Jake’s Bikes will be the tenant of the proposed relocation site. Total project cost is $546,000 with $20,000 granted from the Greater Alexandria Industrial Network to finance the purchase & remodel of commercial real estate located at 419 N Nokomis St. in Alexandria, MN.

Mi cro loan Po licy To assist with business start up costs, the Greater Alexandria Industrial Network (GAIN) introduced a new microloan available to any for profit business in Douglas County. This is a direct loan that may be used for all costs demonstrated as essential for the project up to $10,000.

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Alexandria Area

Development Area Projects

Type

Cost

State of Minnesota - DOT

new construction

$106,000

Glenn & Karen Peterson TTE

commercial shed

$111,300

commercial microbrewery

$113,000

new construction

$120,000

Rodger & Marylu Ledebuhr

new commercial dwelling

$122,800

Brent & Deborah Keith*

new commercial dwelling

$125,600

Michael Shubeck*

new commercial dwelling

$125,600

alteration

$140,000

Breibach Construction Co

new construction

$145,500

Eastside Storage - Alexandria, LLC

new construction

$150,000

Eastside Storage - Alexandria, LLC

new construction

$150,000

Eastside Storage - Alexandria, LLC

new construction

$155,000

alteration

$165,000

Old Hickory Buildings LLC

commercial building

$169,200

Rodger & Marylu Ledebuhr

new commerical dwelling

$170,500

addition

$200,000

CCW, LLC* Eastside Storage - Alexandria, LLC

Greiner Construction

Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust

The Tradesmen Construction, Inc

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The Alexandria area continues to be a vibrant regional center. These projects represent a sampling of the areas commercial development. Each of these projects have an estimated valuation/cost of $100,000 minimum.

Area Projects Goldstart

Type

Cost

plant addition

$203,900

Star 1 Alex, LLC

new construction

$250,000

K & A Company

new commercial dwelling

$287,800

SJ-LDR LLC

new commercial dwelling

$287,800

Angland/RPI

plant addition

$357,600

Company T

plant addition

$387,500

alteration

$390,750

new apartment complex

$399,800

addition

$400,000

new construction

$475,000

Menard Inc A Wisconsin Group

addition

$619,142

Menard Inc A Wisconsin Group

alteration

$800,000

Baru Contracting, LLC

new construction

$800,000

Rodel Construction, Inc*

new construction

$940,000

GoodNeighbors, LLC*

new construction

$1,000,000

Roach Properties LLC

new apartment complex

$1,614,000

new construction

$6,047,259

Keystone Design Building, Inc Hartmann Properties LLC Menard Inc A Wisconsin Group The Tradesmen Construction, Inc

Innovative Construction*

Projects, type and cost were provided by City of Alexandria and Douglas County.

*projects that are not yet complete

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Community and

Workforce Development The Alexandria Area is a regional center sustaining a vibrant, growing economy that is attractive to businesses and to a capable, productive workforce.

A le xa n dri a A re a Job Fair The annual Alexandria Area Job Fair was held February 7, 2018 at Alexandria Area Technical & Community College (ATCC) Law Enforcement Gym. There was great turnout by both participating companies as well as area job seekers; 47 companies occupied a booth and over 400 ATCC students and job seekers attended.

We st Ce n t ra l MN Empl oyment L aw Update

The 15th Annual Employment Law Update was held June 6, 2018. Attorneys throughout the state presented four breakout sessions in the morning:

A bby Strom Community & Workforce Development Coordinator Alexandria Area EDC

•

20 Ways to Avoid Employer Liability

•

English Language Barrier Issues

•

Politics at Work presented

•

Religion at Work presented

Followed by a Q & A panel discussion

Co m m un i t y J ob Fai rs The AAEDC’s Living Alexandria Area booth attended college job fairs with businesses in the Alexandria Area with anticipation of attracting much-needed workforce to our area. The booth is used to promote the livability of the area and point job seekers to companies at the job fair with us. The job fairs attended this year were; St. Cloud Technical & Community College (SCTCC) and North Dakota State College of Science (NDSCS).

A ca de m i e s of Al e x a n dri a The Academies of Alexandria continued to play a big role throughout the Alexandria Area in 2018. The Alexandria Area High School (AAHS) and AAEDC were busy connecting students with businesses in the community to help provide them with new opportunities in hopes of finding a career they are passionate about.

The unique experiences are preparing students for their future, whether they continue their education or step directly into the workforce. Throughout the four Academies; Business, Communication & Entrepreneurship (BCE), Engineering, Manufacturing Technologies & Natural Resources (EMTNR), Health Science & Human Services (HSHS), Freshman Academy and Global, approximately 3,686 hours were volunteered in the 2017/2018 school year with 1,195 interactions.

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We s t C e n t r a l M N SH RM Wage & Be n e fi t s Survey

Every other year the AAEDC assists SHRM in their Wage & Benefits Survey which is a comprehensive survey of compensation, company benefits and policies for the West Central MN Area. In 2017, 49 companies participated in the West Central MN Wage & Benefit Survey (38 companies reported for both surveys, 8 reported only benefits and 3 reported only wages). The new survey will be published summer of 2019. The AAEDC collects and compiles all the data into a final document for participating companies.

The job fair, employment law and wage & benefits survey are organized by West Central MN SHRM – the AAEDC is an active member of this organization and has a major impact on the events with business recruitment, marketing and organization activities.

E co n om i c H ud d l e In partnership with ATCC Customized Training, to celebrate area Small Business and Economic Development weeks, community members were invited to hear Chris Kuehl present, “Never a Dull Moment - Economy in 2018” Chris talked about a jam packed first half of 2018, tax cuts, deficits, tariffs, trade wars, inflation and interest rate hikes.

En trep r e n e ur a n d Sma ll Busi n e ss T ra i n i n gs The AAEDC and ATCC Customized Training Center teamed up for another year to offer regional small business trainings for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Alexandria Area, with funding provided by West Central Initiative (WCI).

We were very pleased with the number of classes and attendees this year; 10 different classes were held throughout the Spring and Fall. More than 32 different businesses were touched and 294 people attended throughout the year.* Training offerings included: • • • • • • • • •

Project Management: Basic Planning Tools Anyone Can Apply Navigating the Tight Labor Market Ten Steps to Becoming a Workplace Investigation Pro Organizing Work Places and Work Places Using 5S Organizing Principles How Facebook and Google Track You How to Properly Sell a Business Versus Closing Up Shop Social Media: Recruiting Using LinkedIn Team Building: We All Go Up Town Together Multigenerational Communication in the Workplace

*Please note that the 294 is duplicated head count; meaning some of the same people attended multiple sessions.

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Communications &

Marketing The Alexandria area is a close-knit community with strong family values where you can make supportive and friendly connections. We have outdoor recreation for all seasons to fit your active lifestyle and most big-city amenities without the big-city traffic and congestion…that’s #LivingAlexArea!

The AAEDC’s social media campaign reached over 1

mil l ion

people.

+45% over 2018

facebook Likes

27,687 2018

Website PageViews

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Area Events Lenders Luncheon | Community lenders and individuals who provide business financing and consultation services were invited for a luncheon to learn about area and business assistance programs such as: City of Alexandria Loan Funds, SBA 504 Program through Minnesota Business Finance Corporation (MBFC), SBA Loan Basics & SBDC Updates and WCI Lending Programs.

Business & Industrial Appreciation Day | Hilltop Lumber was the 2018 BIAD recipient awarded in October by the AAEDC & ALA Chamber of Commerce. The event was a celebration of the success, growth and impact Hilltop Lumber has had on our local and statewide economy. There were 422 attendees for this years event, the largest since 2013 for our 30 year anniversary.

We celebrated Minnesota Manufactures Week by visiting some of our local manufactures. A video was posted about each company on Facebook, we were able to reach over 13,000 people.

AAEDC Publications Alexandria Area Fact Guide | This demographic guide gives an overview of statistics from the Douglas County area.

Financial Assistance Guide | Provides information on the financial incentives and revolving loan options for start-up and expanding businesses from around the area.

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Other Projects &

Partnerships The City of Alexandria revised their City Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) policy to include additional parcels. CHAP was established by the City and EDA in 2002 and modified in 2003. The Program has been working efficiently for the last 15 years to assist low and moderate income families with the acquisition of a single family home.

To provide a sufficient workforce to meet our community’s needs, the City of Alexandria established an economic development taskforce. The committee was tasked with reviewing current economic policies within the City and recommend changes or additions to assist companies in their workforce challenges.

R e ta i l t r a d e a n a ly s i s Pull Factors

In 2018 the AAEDC partnered 4.50 with the University of Minnesota 4.00 Extension to produce a tool used to measure the economic 3.50 health of the local retail 3.00 economy. There are several ways to measure performance 2.50 other than dollars of sales.

2.00 Economists expect cities of larger populations to have 1.50 more sales since their potential 1.00 customer base is larger. A way to compensate for that in a retail 0.50 trade analysis is to measure the 0.00 pull factor, which compares the local taxable sales per capita to Alexandria Bemidji Detroit Lakes Fergus Falls that of the state. A pull factor index higher than 1.0 usually indicates that businesses are pulling in customers from outside their community.

The pull factor for Alexandria has grown from 2.74 at the end of the great recession to 3.09 today.

Retail Community

Minnesota Retailers Association named Alexandria the Retail Community of the Year in 2018

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Lakes area economic

development authority The AAEDC works in partnership with the Lakes Area Economic Development Authority to meet their overall goals. The LAEDA was organized in 2004 through special state legislation with approval of the State of MN and the organization’s founding members to formalize and stabilize the funding process of economic development efforts in Douglas County, MN. Because of the long-term nature of many initiatives and investments needed to continue to grow our community, stable funding is crucial to the success of economic development efforts.

The mission of the LAEDA is to support the mission of the AAEDC by providing fair and equitable resources.

BUSINESS STRATEGIC The LAEDA model is the first of its kind in Minnesota to bring together communities and townships under a formal structure with designated EDA powers.

POWERS OF EDAS • Tax abatement

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Board of Directors for the LAEDA include: Mayor Sara Carlson (City of Alexandria), Joel Dahlheimer (Alexandria Township), Dick Bromley (LaGrand Township) and John Nienaber (City of Garfield).

• Ability to enter into contracts • Sale of bonds • Economic Development Districts • Levying of taxes • Creation of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts • Acquisition and sale of real estate and person property

PARTNERSHIPS A formal partnership between the City of Alexandria, Garfield, and the townships of Alexandria & LaGrand that is considered to be an innovative model in addressing local, longterm economic development issues across geographical boundaries.

• Participation in limited partnerships

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32 4 B roadway Str e e t, S uit e 1 01 | Al e x an d r i a , M N a a edc@alexmn.or g | 3 20 . 7 63 . 45 45 www.Liv ingAlexA r e a.or g

Economic Development Commission