St Cloud Area Economic Development Partnership Efforts in Each Stearns County Commissioner District
District 1
Carlson Engineered Composites, a supplier to New
Flyer Industries, is now leasing space at the
former St. Cloud Indoor Soccer Arena along
Heatherwood Road in south St. Cloud, creating
10-50 new jobs. A real estate investment trust
is considering making an Investment in a 300,000
square foot distribution center at the I-94
Business Park. I-94 sites are being considered
for three data center projects (up to 200 jobs),
four call centers (up to 1,200 new jobs), one
industrial gas air separation plant (10 jobs),
and one pharmaceutical vaccine manufacturing
facility (450 jobs).
District 2
A Twin Cities-based company is considering lab
space at the former MCO/DBL labs buildings in
St. Joseph and a medical building in Sartell.
One food processing company, a composite
manufacturer and a food product distribution
center are considering the purchase of a
building in St Joseph. A frozen food
distribution center and a wind tower
manufacturer are considering rail-served sites
in Waite Park. The Kennedy Community School in
St. Joseph will be the primary focus of the
Partnership's real estate seminar and tour on
Sept. 11.
District 3
A potato processing plant, a frozen food
distribution center and a wind tower
manufacturer are considering sites in Rockville
and Cold Spring. The Partnership's annual real
estate seminar will focus on green building and
LEED certified projects in Central Minnesota,
including a tour of D.H. Blattner & Sons in
Avon.
District 4
A Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company has
their eye on a site in St Augusta for
construction of a goat farm and drug
purification facility. Neighboring sites are
being considered by a Litchfield company that is
seeking a second location for a biopharma
packaging plant
District 5
Proliant Dairy Ingredients, a Des Moines-based
animal health company, plans to locate a
facility in Melrose. Partnership staff helped
the company locate additional distribution
center space in St Joseph. Partnership staff
provided preliminary information about the
region to Wells Concrete Products, which
contributed to their decision to construct a new
manufacturing facility in Albany. The
Partnership assisted the City of St Martin on
plans to accommodate an expansion at
Rotochoppers. A biodiesel refining company is
considering sites in Rockville and Paynesville.
The Partnership administers the Science
Initiative of Central Minnesota, a regional
science-based organization created to market
Centra! Minnesota to bioscience, animal health
and life science companies. At its August
meeting, committee members heard a presentation
from Dr. David Tomsche, a founder of Stearns
Veterinary Associates at Melrose, a classic
entrepreneur whose new business ventures have
grown to over 800 employees, largely located in
western Stearns County. We look forward to
collaborating more closely with Dr. Tomsche on
new projects in the animal health arena.