The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced that six businesses are expanding in Minnesota with the help of $2.1 million in awards from the Job Creation Fund (JCF), including a major development project in Albertville.
The six projects are expected to leverage $123 million in investments from the companies and create 381 new jobs over the next 3 years.
“The Job Creation Fund once again proves to be an incredible return on investment for the state,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove, “I congratulate these cities and businesses on their future economic growth.”
The Job Creation Fund provides financial incentives to new and expanding businesses that meet certain job creation and capital investment targets. Companies deemed eligible to participate may receive up to $1 million for creating or retaining high-paying jobs and for constructing or renovating facilities or making other property improvements.
All projects also received an award from the Minnesota Investment Fund. The Minnesota Investment Fund provides loans to companies that create and retain high-quality jobs with a focus on industrial, manufacturing and technology-related industries to increase the local and state tax base and improve the economic vitality for all Minnesotans.
Albertville’s Advanced Volumetric Alliance (AVA), a $31 million project approved by the Albertville City Council in March, received $175,000 from the JCF.
Advanced Volumetric is a startup that will manufacture modular units for use in commercial and residential construction projects. They are adding a new 180,000 square foot facility that will cost $31,233,190 to create. The project is expected to create 135 new qualifying jobs within the next two years at an average wage of $27 an hour. They will receive the JCF award once they have met the established criteria. In addition to the JCF award this project also received a $450,000 loan from the Minnesota Investment Fund.
AVA will build on a 24-acre lot in a new Albertville Industrial Park, that will bring three outlots for future development.
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.