Once pegged as a possible location for a “Mall of Entertainment,” a plot of agricultural land on Albertville’s northwest corner has now been committed as the site of the city’s new Albertville Business Park, which will include an industrial manufacturing facility called Advanced Volumetric Alliance (AVA), which builds multifamily housing component units. After initial on-site construction, the components will be shipped throughout the state or region for final construction in apartment or condominium projects.
The 33-acre Albertville Business Park, located just south of 70th St. and east of Kadler Ave., near the border between Otsego and Albertville, would include AVA on a 24-acre lot, along with three outlots for future development. AVA said the addition of their facility will bring at least 110 new jobs to Albertville within its first two years, which will each pay a minimum of $18 per hour and provide benefits, with an anticipated median pay scale of over $27/hour.
On Jan. 4, the Albertville city council approved the zoning and development applications to pave the way for AVA’s new 180,000 square-foot facility. In February, the Albertville city council voted to approve the final plat and the conditional use permits for outdoor storage and outdoor product display, and they changed the land use designation from commercial to industrial to fit this application. In early March, the council voted to approve the contract for private development and award sale for its Tax Increment revenue. Albertville’s City Planner, Alan Brixius, said construction on the new manufacturing facility will begin this spring or summer.
City Investment
AVA has requested tax increment (TIF) financing for the development as well as DEED Job Creation Grants sponsored by the city. The TIF assistance would total up to $2.26 million in tax benefits that AVA could use to defray development costs, including the need to construct or update Karmen Ave. and Kadler Ave. The city said all TIF monies come from property taxes paid by the developer on the property. For the nine years that the TIF district is in place, the city, county, and school district will continue to receive tax revenue only on the vacant land. This land, while in the city of Albertville, lies within the boundaries of the ISD 728 (Elk River) school district.
Kadler Avenue
Improvements will be needed for Kadler Ave. NE since AVA will utilize this road to transport its products from their facility. NE. Kadler is a boundary road between Otsego and Albertville, with each city owning half of the road. It is currently a gravel road from its southernmost segment up to 80th St. Brixius said AVA will pave and improve this segment of Kadler Ave. to a 24-foot roadway to accommodate the new business’s needs.