BUSINESS NEWS - City of Eagan

EAGAN
BUSINESS NEWS
J OURNA L OF T HE EAG A N BUS I NES S COMMUNIT Y
FIRST QUARTER 2015
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 1
FROM THE EDITOR
Eagan Business News kicks off 2015 with
annual coverage of the State of the City
event, featuring a trio of highlights and a
new Eagan Forward project. Plus, we delve
into solar energy and its growing popularity
in Eagan and Minnesota.
Did you know Minnesota is 27th in the
nation for installed solar capacity at 20
megawatts? It’s true, and demand is only
growing, thanks to dropping system costs,
the allure of stable energy bills, and the
desire to be environmentally friendly. Is it
time for your company to find its place in
the sun? Find out on page 2.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
APRIL 21, 2015
Open to Business, City Hall, 1 to 3 p.m.
APRIL 30, 2015
DCR Chamber Legislative Breakfast:
Regional Planning vs. Local Control*
MAY 21, 2015
WomEn’s Circle Social: Wine
Tasting and Networking*
* Visit dcrchamber.com for more information.
SUBSCRIBE ONLINE
To subscribe to Eagan Business News
or our online publication, E-Biz, please
visit us at cityofeagan.com/EBN.
City of Eagan
3830 Pilot Knob Road
Eagan, Minnesota 55122
cityofeagan.com
For the first time, Eagan’s State
of the City was held offsite.
Twin Cities Premium Outlets
welcomed the annual crowd to its
Market Hall.
The growing demand for solar
energy in the U.S. is likely to
result in the one-millionth solar
installation in 2015.
Businesses are yet to be
determined for Central
Park Commons, a retail-andoffice center planned for the
former Lockheed Martin site.
State of the City, 2015
Next, Maguire shared news of the former
Lockheed Martin site, which — after multiple
proposals — has received City Council
approval to become Central Park Commons,
During his 2015 State of the City speech,
a walkable, inviting retail-office center,
Mayor Mike Maguire focused on
scheduled to open in 2016. He noted that the
“intentional successes,” highlighting new
project is yet another example of the City
development and economic vigor, and
not saying “yes to the first thing that comes
current challenges, including the need to
along, but working with developers to
strengthen social and community
encourage memorable enhancements
connections vital for the future.
and experiences in Eagan.”
Nearly 100 elected officials, business
The third major success shared
leaders, residents and city staff members
was DataBank, a major new
gathered to hear the presentation at
88,000-square-foot data center,
Twin Cities Premium Outlets
which will serve as an
on Thursday, March 19.
Upper Midwest asset.
Maguire began by lauding
Already, he pointed out,
“these remarkable spaces,”
it’s winning recognition
referring to the upscale
despite the fact that it
outlet center, which has
Mayor
Mike
Maguire
won’t open its doors
brought jobs, new retailers
until later this spring.
and surrounding development
(For more, see “DataBank wins accolades,”
to Cedar Grove. “[They] are the product
page 2.) He also hailed the vision of City and
of a City vision, both flexible and firm,
business leaders who created AccessEagan, a
that adapted to market realities, while
wholesale fiber-optic network and a “a major
remaining responsive to neighborhood
reason DataBank chose to locate here.”
expectations,” he said. In addition, Maguire
Other presentation highlights included
detailed the numerous players involved
recognizing anniversaries, including 50 years
in what became the most successful new
for the Eagan police department and 25 years
outlet mall opening in the United States.
for the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority; and
sharing positive City survey results, including
the quality of life, safety and City direction.
From there, Maguire turned his focus
to the need to build “soft infrastructure” —
strengthening the “social and community
connections that we increasingly understand
Central Park Commons approved
State of the City continued on page 3
Mayor highlights successes, asks
“What’s next?”
EAGAN BUSINESS NEWS | FIRST QUARTER 2015
1
Briefly
New retail-office center in the works
A new 434,000-square-foot Central Park
Commons has been approved by Eagan City
Council for the former Lockheed Martin site,
at the intersection of Yankee Doodle and Pilot
Knob roads.
The new urban-styled center is planned to
include retail stores, restaurants, medical
offices and a grocery store. Minneapolis-based
CSM Corporation, which owns the property,
plans to build the pedestrian-friendly center,
completing it in 2016. Look for six buildings, an
outdoor plaza, outdoor seating and walking paths.
Watch for more news as the project progresses.
DataBank wins accolades
DataBank has been recognized as the 2015
Business Recruitment Project of the Year by
the Economic Development Association of
Minnesota. The project was selected for its
capital investment, job creation and long-term
benefits, including business development and
economic boost to the state and region. EDAM
recognized both the City of Eagan and the
Dakota Electric Association for their efforts to
attract the national data-center provider.
In addition, DataBank will receive a Progress
Minnesota Award from Finance & Commerce in
April, and the company has been awarded the
Uptime Institute’s Tier III Certification for its
Eagan building design.
Currently, DataBank is completing a $49
million update to its 88,000-square-foot
building (3255 Neil Armstrong Blvd.). When
it opens this spring, the business plans to
employ 40 people and provide space for
telecommunications companies and other
businesses in the Upper Midwest. Currently,
only one other data center exists in the Twin Cities.
Here comes the sun
Commercial solar projects are hot among Eagan businesses, thanks to
dropping system costs, financial incentives and set energy prices.
said, he notes that such a “big investment
Ironwood Electronics. Lessors, Inc. Murphy
has to have a payoff.” Thanks to state
Warehouse. These three Eagan businesses
incentives, his solar project will pay for
are just a few of those that have made
itself in approximately seven years.
significant investments in solar power over
Such incentives include the Made in
the past few years. Not long ago, solar energy
Minnesota (MiM) Solar Incentive Program,
rarely made economic sense. But that has
which invites three categories of applicants,
changed in Minnesota and elsewhere.
including businesses, to apply for “funding
According to the Solar Energy Industries
reservations.” Selected applicants receive
Association (SEIA), the 25 U.S. companies with
annual payments based
the most solar capacity
on the kWh (energy)
now have 1,100 systems,
output of their Minnesotatotaling 569 megawatts,
made solar systems in the
which generates “enough
previous year; payments,
electricity to power more
made over 10 years, are
than 115,000 homes.”
based on a system’s
homes could be
Why are commercial
performance. Commercial
enterprises choosing
powered by the top
systems may have up to a
solar? First, solar
25 solar-energy40 kW (power) capacity.
energy can reduce
producing companies
In addition, rebates
operating costs due
are available to Eagan
to the falling price of
commercial property owners who install
solar systems. Second, it can lock in energy
Made in Minnesota-certified solar thermal
costs for years to come, while fossil-fuel costs
systems; the rebate is equal to 25% of the
remain erratic. Third, clean solar energy
installed commercial system, up to $25,000.
decreases a business’s carbon footprint.
“We’re more heavily involved in
And fourth, it’s a positive marketing tool
solar energy than I thought we would
for those businesses whose customers are
be,” says Peter Klein, vice president for
motivated by environmental concerns.
finance, St. Paul Port Authority. Last year,
In Minnesota, businesses have been further
SPPA completed a dozen or so projects;
incentivized by the State Legislature, which
this year looks to be busy as well.
has set renewable energy mandates for utilities
Klein points to two SPPA loan programs,
and provided tax incentives for businesses.
available statewide, that have made solar
“I am very interested in environmental
projects in Minnesota economically feasible:
issues as well as technology,” says Mike
Since its inception in 2010, the Trillion BTU
Fedde, owner of Ironwood Electronics. That
Solar continued on next page
115,000
PEOPLE: Laurie Rieb Bolin, director of
development, 360 Communities, and
Ingrid Lindberg, chief customer experience
officer, Prime Therapeutics, were among
a dozen honorees named by the Dakota
County Tribune and Sun Thisweek as 2015
Exceptional Businesswomen. v Mark Langanki
Briefly continued on next page
2
Ironwood’s solar installation should pay for itself in seven years.
EAGAN BUSINESS NEWS | FIRST QUARTER 2015
cityofeagan.com
Briefly CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
Solar CONTINUED FROM previous page
program has funded over $33 million in
projects. The program provides loans for
energy-efficient and energy-renewable projects,
offering 100 percent of each project cost with
no money down, roughly a 4 percent interest
rate and five-year terms. Businesses don’t
begin repaying the loans until they start seeing
energy savings; additionally, MiM rebates help
cover costs. A typical Trillion BTU project
costs between $100,000 and $2 million.
Another SPPA program, Property Assessed
Clean Energy, or PACE, tends to fund more
costly projects, often multitenant buildings. A
special low-cost, property-tax assessment for 100
percent of a solar project is placed on the real
estate by a government body. The business then
makes twice-yearly payments to the government
body, which, in turn, pays the SPPA; the City
of Eagan contracted the SPPA to manage any
PACE applications it receives. Because the
loans are paid back for up to 20 years, “the
cash flow is very positive,” says Klein.
Of course, there are stories of individual
residents with rooftop solar panels
who sell excess solar energy to their
utilities — and collect monthly checks.
That’s not often true for businesses,
says Jeff Schoenecker, senior electrical
engineer, Dakota Electric. “Most of the time,
a business’s [energy] load is greater than
the amount of solar energy it generates.” He
notes that a business needs “quite a bit of
square footage” — on a roof or on land — to
generate excess electricity. Still, he says,
“if you’re using 100kW, the 40 kW you’re
creating is offsetting your energy costs.”
Schoenecker says Dakota Electric has
found a great deal of interest in solar — both
for those who want fixed energy costs for the
future and who feel “it’s the right thing to do.”
Fedde of Ironwood Electronics would likely
count himself among both groups. “This is the
right time,” he says, “to do these kind of projects
with economic and environmental wins.” EBN
Getting started
with solar
“Do all of the puzzle pieces come together?” asks
Brandon Charboneau, All Energy Solar, which
oversaw the Ironwood Electronics solar installation
in Eagan. “It just comes down to numbers at the
end of the day.” If it works, he says, “why wouldn’t a
business do this?” EBN
When a business contacts a solar-panel
manufacturer or installer, a consultant will
determine the costs and feasibility of each custom
project. Likely, he or she will:
•discuss goals for the business,
•determine the roof or land space that’s
available for solar panels,
•evaluate the business on site,
•consider how the business’s current
infrastructure integrates with a potential
solar project
•and calculate the costs of such a project
Workers install solar panels on the
Murphy Warehouse in Eagan.
For more information, consider visiting these websites:
Dakota Electric
State incentives database
dakotaelectric.com
dsireusa.org
Property Assessed Clean Energy Program
Trillion BTU Program
sppa.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/newPACE2014.pdf
sppa.com/wp-content/uploads/sellsheet_03.08.pdf
State of the City CONTINUED FROM COVER
add value and vibrancy to a community.”
To that end, he invited the City of Eagan as
a whole to begin a creative, “communityvisioning process” with City-contracted
Next Generation Consulting. Among
the goals of the Eagan Forward project,
cityofeagan.com
scheduled to begin this summer, are driving
a renewed vision and setting benchmarks.
“This is not simply about…what
conversations happen inside City Hall,”
he said. “It’s about a much broader
community conversation.” EBN
has been named chief technology officer
of ConvergeOne, a leading independent
provider of IT,
communications
and more.
v Philip J.
Kluesner will
join Carlson
Commercial, an
Eagan-based
commercial
Philip J. Kluesner
real-estate firm,
which recently merged with Gannett Peak
Partners in Edina. v Cynthia MacDonald has
been named vice president and CEO of Blue
Cross and Blue Shield Northern Plains Alliance
and COO of ClearStone Solutions; BCBS has
also promoted Stacia Cohen to vice president
of Medicare Star Center of Excellence.
BUSINESS: Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Minnesota Foundation is seeking
proposals for one- and two-year grants of
$25,000 to $100,000 to further health equity
in Minnesota communities. v In other Blue
Cross and Blue Shield news, about 30,000
Minnesotans with BCBS coverage could have
had their data compromised by the security
breach of health insurer Anthem, Inc.; both
insurers belong to the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association. v Enventis has signed on
as the fifth
provider on
AccessEagan,
the City’s
17-mile business fiber network. v JonnyPops,
which got its start in part by selling its frozen
treats at Eagan Market Fest, has raised
approximately
$500,000 in
funding from
investors.
v Meritex,
a private realestate investment and
management company, has acquired the
155,000-square-foot Kennebec Distribution
Center in Eagan. v Employees at Thomson
Reuters can now access health care at work,
visiting Your Wellbeing Health Center, a
6,000-square-foot facility providing urgent,
preventive and chronic care. EBN
EAGAN BUSINESS NEWS | FIRST QUARTER 2015
3
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U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
3830 Pilot Knob Road
Eagan, Minnesota 55122
TWIN CITIES, MN
PERMIT NO. 4902
IN THIS ISSUE
1
State of the City, 2015
p
2
Briefly
2
p
4
Here comes the sun
p
Mayor Maguire highlights successes,
challenges during annual event
p
Central Park Commons approved,
DataBank wins awards and more
Businesses invest in solar energy
Murphy Warehouse
A strategic leader in green energy
EVERY PUBLICATION NEEDS A NEW LOOK
FROM TIME TO TIME. With this issue, Eagan
Business News unveils its new design. We welcome
your feedback, plus your story ideas. Contact us at
EBN@cityofeagan.com.
Editor
Karin B. Miller
Working Words, Inc.
Design & Layout
Cory Laux
Overdog Art
Expanding his solar system
time, thanks to the business’s renewableThree years ago, deciding to install solar on
energy focus. And the loan offered great
his Eagan warehouse wasn’t a no-brainer for
terms, requiring just 5 percent down and
Richard Murphy, despite the facts that his four
covering 95 percent of his costs. That
other warehouses had solar systems and he’s
meant he could work with Dakota Electric
known in the distribution industry as a “green
after all — “a great company,” he says.
guy” — and not just because he’s Irish, he jokes.
Murphy was so impressed that he got
While Murphy was used to making back
in touch with Finance &
his renewable-energy
Commerce magazine to
investments in under five
“For
us,
we
felt
that
spread the word to other
years, he was looking
small- and medium-sized
at more than twice
was something
businesses. “For us, we
that in Eagan. At the
other businesses
time, Dakota Electric,
should hear about.“ felt that was something
other businesses should
a not-for-profit co-op,
– Richard Murphy
hear about,” he says.
couldn’t offer the financial
Just a few years
incentives major utilities
later, additional state incentives are giving
were required to pay.
businesses the boost to go solar, working
That’s when his financial institution
with any utility, including Dakota Electric.
suggested he turn to the Small Business
In the meantime, Murphy continues
Administration for a loan. Murphy was
to spread the green gospel: Last year,
skeptical, having been turned down before
Murphy Warehouse was the fifth-largest
by SBA for other purposes. But Murphy
producer of solar power in Minnesota. EBN
Warehouse was quickly granted the loan this
4
EAGAN BUSINESS NEWS | FIRST QUARTER 2015
Murphy Warehouse used an SBA loan to
fund a solar project at its Eagan location.
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