2023 Economic Development Annual Report

Prepared by Ruth Tucker, Economic Development Specialist

About Blaine

Blaine is a rapidly growing metropolitan community situated 11 miles north of downtown Minneapolis. The City encompasses 34 square miles with a population of 71,891. The City’s park and recreation system provides a variety of leisure opportunities. Blaine is also home

Blaine is one of the fastest growing suburbs in the Twin Cities Metro area. Its population has grown by over 12,000 residents since 2010. Blaine continues to rank high in new housing development in the metro area.

to the National Sports Center, TPC Twin Cities golf course, and Four Seasons Curling Club. Blaine has a strong and growing industrial and commercial business sector. The City is home to over 1,400 businesses, including Aveda Corporation, Infinite Campus, Bermo Inc., Dayton Rogers Manufacturing, Fogerty Arena, and Northtown Mall. Over 25,000 people are employed in the City of Blaine by our businesses. With competitive land prices, a strong labor pool, and excellent freeway access to Interstate 35W and Highways 10 and 65, Blaine has an abundant supply of development opportunities for growing and emerging businesses. The Anoka County Airport is located in Blaine which is the Metro Area’s second busiest reliever airport.

• Population

Demographics and Employment

• Median Household Income

• Number of Jobs

• Households

• Median Home Value

• Number of Businesses

Source: Metropolitan Council, 2022 Community Estimates

Source: Metropolitan Council, 2022 Community Estimates

Blaine is home to over 1,400 businesses.

Source: Metropolitan Council, 2022 Community Estimates

Construction and Development

• Construction Values

• Permits

• Residential Construction and Growth

• Industrial Development and Expansions

• Commercial Development

• Opened in 2023

Residential Construction Values

Commercial Construction Values

Based on New Addition, New Buildings, and Tenant Finish Permits

2023 Permits with Highest Valuation

Residential Construction and Growth

Despite high interest rates, new housing starts continued to be strong in Blaine through 2023 with a variety of housing types.

Permits issued in 2023 included 303 single family detached homes and 89 townhomes.

Blaine again ranked in the top five market for housing growth among the Twin Cities suburbs.

New Residential Units 2012 - 2021

Source: Residential and Commercial Permits

2023 Industrial Development and Expansions

Naples II Industrial Warehouse

10400 Naples Street NE

• 195,000 square foot speculative warehouse building

Park Construction

10160 Naples Street NE

• 15,000 square foot office and shop with an additional 8,000 square foot of cold storage building

Minnesota State Emergency Operations Center

3925 Pheasant Ridge Drive NE

• 37,000 square foot headquarters building

Advanced Moldings

9472 88th Avenue NE

• 21,718 square foot addition to the existing facility

Aerofab

3020 104th Lane NE

• 15,000 square foot addition to the existing building

2023 Commercial Development

Chick-fil-A

12331 Ulysses Street NE

• 4,950 square foot single story restaurant with drive thru

Scooter’s Coffee

150 89th Avenue NE

• 678 square foot drive thru coffee shop

Culver’s

4121 108th Avenue NE

• 4,224 square feet single story restaurant with drive thru

Heartland Dental

12371 Ulysses Street NE

• 4,20 square foot dental office

Tommy’s Car Wash

4252 122nd Avenue NE

• 4,553 square foot automated tunnel car wash

99th Avenue Building

9927 Ulysses Street NE

• 4,063 square foot building for three restaurants

Opened in 2023

Chick-fil-A

12331 Ulysses Street NE

• 4,950 square foot single story restaurant with drive thru

Blaine 35 Building B

8650 West 35W Service Drive NE

• 100,000 square foot building leased to Chandler Industries

Naples II Industrial Warehouse

10400 Naples Street NE

• 195,000 speculative heavy industrial warehouse building

Scooter’s Coffee

150 89th Avenue NE

• 678 square foot drive thru coffee shop

Cafe Zupas

12391 Ulysses Street NE

• 3,317 square foot single story restaurant with a drive thru

99th Avenue Building

9927 Ulysses Street NE

• 4,062 square foot commercial building completed in 2023

• Great Steak/Planet Smoothie has moved into a portion of the building

Blaine Resources

• Business Employment

• Business Outreach

• Home Loan Improvement Program

• EDA Fire Suppression Grant Program

• Blaine Small Business Loan Program

• EDA Land and Redevelopment Activity

Business Employment

After a decline of over 3,000 jobs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 witnessed a significant reduction in unemployment rates. Blaine gained approximately 2,800 jobs in 2021 falling about 1,200 jobs short of pre-COVID numbers.

Blaine continued to witness decreased unemployment in 2022 with Blaine having the lowest unemployment rate the City has seen since 1998. Job growth is expected to continue with estimates showing 31,000 jobs in Blaine by 2040.

Blaine Top Employers

Business Employment

Blaine Unemployment Rate

Source: Metropolitan Council Community Data

3M Open Golf Tournament

The City of Blaine hosted a hospitality tent at the 3M Open in July. Blaine staff were present Thursday through Sunday filling the tent with businesses, real estate brokers/developers, Blaine staff, and other invited guests. All allotted tickets were distributed to guests attending the event.

Economic Development Summit

The City of Blaine hosted its annual Economic Development Summit in May to showcase the vision for the future of Blaine. The city welcomed restaurants, retailers, developers, bankers, real estate brokers and other invited guests to share in the excitement of the opportunities within the City.

Blaine Manufacturing Tours

The City of Blaine in partnership with the MetroNorth Chamber of Commerce organized the inaugural Blaine Manufacturing Day to celebrate Manufacturing Month. A group of students from Blaine High School spent the morning touring Surecast, Engineered Materials, Turfco, and Crown Iron Works in Blaine.

Business Visits

This year staff and elected officials visited with 16 Blaine businesses and non-profits. The visits presented a great opportunity to gain insight into each company’s condition, employment size, and operations.

Apricot Lane Boutique

Ascential Medical Life Services

El Norte Mexican Restaurant

Fairy Tails Grooming

Fresh Picked Pizza

General Pattern

Goddard School

Kingdom Baking

Lulu Lavender Boutique

Lead Network Pro

McDonalds

Motomart

National Sports Center

Nautical Bowls

Northtown Mall

OMS Specialists

Package Edge Corporation

Pioneer Cycle

SOTA Workspaces

Zopec Medical

Blaine Business Council

The City played an active role in 2023 at the quarterly Blaine Business Council providing updates to the business community on development and public safety.

Home Improvement Loans and Grants

Maintaining existing housing stock is a key component to a strong economic climate in the City of Blaine. According to the Minneapolis Area Realtors, the average 2023 home sale price in Blaine was $420,115 up from $400,182 in 2022. This is above the average for Anoka County which is $381,243.

Blaine has over 25,000 housing units with a quarter of those constructed prior to 1980.

Blaine has a variety of programs to assist residents with housing updates and down payment assistance including home improvement loans, down payment assistance loans, front door grants, major remodel grants, and more. The home improvement loan program is available to any homeowner, however the program’s general focus is to encourage those with older homes to make improvements and maintain housing stock. There are currently 73 outstanding home improvement loans with 14 new loans in 2023. The City also provided 15 down payment assistance loans for eligible individuals buying homes within city limits. The front door and major remodel grant programs are available to homeowners with homes older than 30 years old that were valued under $400,000. The City issued 36 grants in 2023.

EDA Fire Suppression Grant Program

In 2016, the Blaine Economic Development Authority reestablished the fire suppression grant program to encourage owners of commercial and industrial buildings to install fire suppression. No new grants were awarded in 2023, however to date, the program has distributed $298,633 in grants to 16 different properties across the City.

Small Business Loan Program

In 2018, the Blaine EDA established a small business loan program to encourage reinvestment in existing commercial and industrial properties. The intent of this program is to provide additional financial assistance to small business owners who are improving an existing building and/or redeveloping a commercial or industrial property. In general, projects will increase tax base, improve blighted properties, increase employment, and bring properties into conformance with existing City and State codes. In 2022, the EDA updated the program to include interior improvements including capital expenditures as eligible expenses for this loan. Additionally, the maximum loan amount was increased to $100,000. In 2022, the City of Blaine provided a $75,000 loan to 4 Taps LLC. No small Business loans were administered in 2023.

Northtown Redevelopment Study

The Northtown Redevelopment Study was completed in 2022 creating a long term strategy for redevelopment of the Northtown Mall property plus the surrounding area. The study outlines district principles that help address land use, redevelopment/revitalization options, multi-modal transportation and public improvements in the study area. The City’s goal is to help Northtown Mall continue to be a relevant and important asset to the City and to spur growth appropriate with current market trends and community needs and desires. This study is estimated to take 20-30 years to reach full realization but the City has put together a working group to move forward with short term public and private improvements that will serve as the catalyst for the redevelopment of the area as a whole. In 2023, a new Scooter’s Coffee was built in the area officially launching the first project since the completion of the study.

Goals of the Study

Restore the Hub

Welcome to All Gray to Green

Barriers to Assets

Complete the Streets

Strengthen the Mix

Celebrate Springbrook Creek

Move In Mobility Forward

Unite the District

105th Area Redevelopment Study

The Blaine City Council has identified an area near 105th Avenue, Nassau Street, and Radisson Road for redevelopment into an entertainment district to serve the entire Blaine community and capitalize on the activity at the National Sports Center. The City undertook a visioning study in 2021 to guide redevelopment. The visioning study was completed in 2022 and has progressed toward selecting a master developer. In late 2022, the City selected Elevage Development Group as the master developer to bring the vision for the 105th Area Redevelopment Study to life.

Through 2023, the City worked with the developer with project details being released in 2024.

Purchase of lot in the 105th Avenue and Nassau Street area from National Sports Center of 10524 Nassau Street

The EDA acquired a parcel south of Surecast Foundry from the National Sports Center. This property was purchased as part of the continued effort to implement the 105th Area Redevelopment plan.