Central Minnesota looks to incubator facility to create jobs

When an industrial park filled up on the north side of Long Prairie, MN, the small central Minnesota community was left with a dilemma.

I don’t necessarily agree with ‘build it and they will come,’” says Lyle Danielson of the Long Prairie Economic Development office. “But if you don’t build it, they’ll have no reason to come.”

After Long Prairie native Randy Mechels expanded his Impact Technology business and built four buildings to fill up the city’s industrial park, the search was on for more space.

The community responded by finding a way to make a new 64-acre industrial park a reality, including building a new business incubator.

Another local resident, Steve Klick, was instrumental in making the new incubator building a reality by pledging half a million dollars towards the facility. A grant application was submitted to the federal economic development office in Chicago, completing the rest of the funding puzzle.

Submitting the grant request resulted from another serendipitous moment.

Danielson, Mayor Don Rasmussen and Julie Baum, manager of the Long Prairie Chamber of Commerce, had discussed the possibility of building an incubator building with Dave Venekamp, the city administrator, when they attended an Initiative Foundation meeting in Little Falls, MN. Cheryl Lee Hills of the Region 5 Economic Development Commission was also at the meeting.

“What’s the mayor of Long Prairie looking for today?” Rasmussen recalls Hills asking him that day.

“Money for an incubator building,” Rasmussen boldly responded. Hills offered Region 5 assistance in writing the grant that brought in $600,000 for the project. With Klick’s half million contribution, the financing was in place for a building many hope will add good employment opportunities not only in the immediate Long Prairie area but within a 30-to-50-mile radius as well.

“Two or three years ago, we looked around and there just weren’t any buildings available for manufacturing and we had companies asking for space,” Danielson says.

Local leaders scrutinized other areas of the country in addition to Long Prairie.

“We’ve all been to the Blandin leadership training program,” Mayor Rasmussen says. “They told us, ‘Your city is no longer the bounds of your economy.’”

Rasmussen is hopeful another newly formed organization will help in working with the new boundaries. A recently-formed county-wide mayors’ association will help promote economic development efforts throughout the county and promote collaboration between communities, among other things.

NEW INCUBATOR FACILITY

While the 15,000-square-foot incubator building, that was scheduled to be completed late last month, features tall ceilings and is designed to attract small manufacturers that will employ workers and enhance the regional economy, the burden of building and maintaining the structure rests solely with the city.

“This is not a spec building. It’s never going to be for sale,” says Rasmussen. Tenants will rent from the city. The city will pay for heat and maintenance regardless of the number of tenants. “Here’s a chance to get into a new building for three years,” Rasmussen adds.

If all goes well, at the end of that time the business will build its own building in the industrial park and another entrepreneur will have the opportunity to use one of the three to four spaces the building provides.

The incubator also comes equipped with green building features like energy efficient windows on the south side of the building that are raised so the sun can shine through, in-floor heat, a well-insulated ceiling and a standing rib roof that is strong enough to withstand heavy loads of snow and is resistant to leakage. The facility has also been set up so it can be converted to geothermal heating in the future.

In addition to space for the businesses, the building has a lunch room, rest rooms, a conference room and mechanical room that will be shared by the tenants.

Officials say the building would have easily filled up three years ago, but the economy’s struggles have contributed to the facility opening without any tenants committed to moving in. The new facility does have some prospects, though.

“Across the nation, there’s 73 percent occupancy of incubator buildings,” says Danielson, adding that the city wouldn’t be against securing an anchor tenant that might stay longer than three years.

During its tenants’ stay, the city will encourage the development of a relationship with the business programs at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, MN. Emphasis will be placed on writing a business plan and the Small Business Administration will also be involved.

David Shultz of the Fargo-based Shultz and Associates architecture firm was the building’s architect and Kevin Knott of Ulteig Engineers was the engineer. Detroit Lakes, MN-based Bob Bristlin and Son Construction Company built the incubator facility.

Rasmussen remains hopeful of the future. To see the possibilities he only needs to look about 90 miles northwest to the community of Detroit Lakes.

“They just built their fourth industrial park,” Rasmussen says. “They put up a spec building in each one and in a short time they were full.”

Long Prairie’s first building in its new industrial park is not a spec building. The concept of an incubator building was at first unfamiliar to some local residents.

“They thought we were bringing in chickens,” Danielson says with a laugh.

While a hatchery is not exactly what the city has in mind, it is hoping the venture helps to grow the local economy.

Leasman is a Long Prairie, MN-based freelance writer and the editor of Central Minnesota Women magazine. She can be reached at leatherwood@wisper-wireless.com.

Tags: economic development, long prairie mn, incubator