2011-09-01 Eagan Business News4
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Third Quarter 2011 Vol. 10 No. 3
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InBusiness News
JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Business is better in Eagan
Business and the economy don't have
the market cornered when it comes to
bad news. But they certainly create
their share of it: corporate layoffs, high
unemployment, sinking consumer
confidence and even rumors of a second
recession. It's enough to cause even the
most successful business owners and
hard-working employees to feel uneasy.
Yet even during these trying times, there
are positive business stories.
Eagan Business News went looking for
bright spots and found an ample supply,
including new businesses and business
expansions, plus a property manager
filling one corporate center faster than
expected and a hopeful developer
looking to make a huge change at a
major crossroads. Check out these
good -news stories and then spread the
word: Business is better in Eagan —
yes, even in 2011.
While business expansions rarely make
headlines, more than two dozen businesses
have grown in Eagan this year. Among those
making significant expansions are
HealthPartners, which will open a new clinic
this fall at 1654 Diffley Road; Erickson
Technologies, which moved to 1230 Eagan
Industrial Road; Ironwood Electronics, which
improved its office/production area for the
wholesaler and custom designer of high-per-
formance sockets and adaptors; and, most
recently, Patterson Dental and Vaisala, Inc.
Vaisala, a meteorological measurement
company based in Finland, moved its
Minnesota operations from Minneapolis to
Eagan in July, upgrading its new location
(1230 Eagan Industrial Road) and bringing
along 13 employees.
"We chose the location because of the
airport," says Jerrad Fennern, field service
engineer. "Vaisala provides field service to
customers — generally small airports and
pilots all over the country — who use AWOS,
automated weather -observing systems."
The new location is much larger than the
business's previous building, says Fennern,
and it means that hopping a flight to visit one
of their 450 clients is significantly easier.
continued on page 2
Third Quarter 2011 JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
Business is better continued from page 1
Another expansion of note is the move by Patterson Dental's
National Repair Center, along with corporate support personnel,
to Eagan in July. It's now at home in the Lexington Corporate
Center — selected for its high-quality facility and its proximity
to Patterson sales offices in Eagan and its corporate head-
quarters in Mendota Heights.
Interestingly, Meritex, a real estate investment company, had
purchased the Lexington Corporate Center as it was about
to be foreclosed on in April 2010 and estimated it would fully
lease the building within 24 months. When Patterson snapped
up over 18,000 square feet —joining two other lessees,
ProAct and Northwest Respiratory Services — Meritex was
far ahead of schedule.
"We bought the building vacant with a broken balance sheet,"
says Arvid Povilaitis, chief operating officer of Meritex.
In roughly one month, the company cleaned up the exterior,
changed the signage and signed on Paramount Real
Estate Corporation to handle the leasing of the facility.
"We repositioned the building," he says, "and announced in
the marketplace that we were interested in making deals."
Working in its favor, "the building is under 12 years old, is
visible from Lexington, has good accessibility, good parking
and good curb appeal — many of the attributes we like in
buildings." He also calls the fiber-optic connections in Eagan
"very attractive and an advantage" for business.
Today the building is 53 percent occupied, but Paramount is
working to gain another potential tenant's business, which
could mean 92 percent occupancy soon.
Meanwhile, Povilaitis praises Dale Schoeppner, chief building
official in Eagan, and other City employees as accommodating,
even during the state shutdown. "Each city has its own culture
and way of working with businesses," he says. "Eagan is very
business friendly and has good folks to work with."
Brand-new retailers, including Anytime Fitness, Big Lots and
Think Bank, have swung open their doors this year. Among the
new business owners are Danielle and Ryan Cenny, iBeach
Tan franchisees.
"I've always wanted to have my own business," says Danielle,
who brims with enthusiasm about entrepreneurship. "It's
stressful to have your first franchise, but I love it — I would
do it again in a second."
iBeach Tan, based in Minneapolis, is a new franchise company
so the fee is relatively low — one reason Cenny was drawn
to the concept. In addition, she says, the tanning business
remains solid in a down economy when people are looking
Lockheed Martin works toward transition
A lot can happen in a year. Or even 10 months.
Back in November 2010, Lockheed Martin announced plans
to close its Eagan facility by 2013 and transfer the majority
of its 1,000 employees to its Owego, N.Y., San Diego, Calif.
and Manassas, Va., locations.
In January, approximately 700 employees were offered the
chance to transfer their positions. By August, 68 Eagan
employees had relocated and another 39 plan to transition
before the end of the year.
"Since not all of our employees have had to make their
decisions to relocate at this time, we are unable to provide a
percentage of all employees who have elected to relocate,"
says Selena Robinson, Communications & Public Affairs.
2 Eagan Business NEWS
In June, Lockheed Martin sold its facility to CSM
Corporation, which plans to develop the area for retail and
commercial purposes. Robinson notes that the sale of the
facility "wasn't a surprise" given its location and quality.
In the meantime, the purchase agreement allows Lockheed
Martin to lease back its facility until it fully transitions out of
Eagan. "The transition schedule was developed to ensure
we meet customer demands and program milestones," says
Robinson, noting that the last program planned for transition
is the Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Mission Processor.
Other programs transitioning in 2012 include hardware
engineering for workstations and computing infrastructure
products and systems. ■
JOURNAL OF THE EAGAN BUSINESS COMMUNITY
for jobs. "People try harder to look good. They have to look
younger and healthier, so they're tanning."
While their franchise (at Diffley and Johnny Cake Ridge Road)
opened during the summer — when tanning is free —
business is "picking up very fast," she says. That's thanks
in part to spreading the word through flyers, local radio
advertising and a Facebook page.
2011 Third Quarter
Andiamo opened in January where two previous Italian restaurants
have failed. Says owner Ramon Ruiz: "So far, so good. They say the
third time's the charm."
New restaurants, including Andiamo, Dickey's Barbecue Pit,
Piccolo's Pizzeria (under new ownership) and soon -to -open
Zest! Bar and Grill have been dishing up new options for
Eagan diners in 2011.
"We see a lot of regulars and lots of families," says Ramon
Ruiz, Andiamo co-owner with his brother, Armando Ruiz,
longtime Buca executive chef. They've been drawing
customers to their Diffley and Johnny Cake Ridge Road
location with their website (andiamomn.com), a Facebook
page, a Twitter account, newspaper ads and social media
coupons like Daily Deals. Plus, Andiamo's specials — half-price
bottles of wine on Tuesday and daily happy hours (3 to 6 p.m.)
with half-price appetizers — keep customers coming back.
"Weekends are really busy," he says, adding that reservations
are recommended. But he notes that the restaurant is open
daily for lunch as well. Their most popular menu items?
Chicken Marsala and Chicken Andiamo — his favorite.
Tight budgets, competitive business climates and a lack of eager
investors have slowed a great deal of new development in
recent years. Yet the expected closure of the Lockheed
Martin division headquarters in Eagan has resulted in a new
development proposal, which will be considered by the City in
the months ahead.
"One of the most significant, compelling aspects of the
Lockheed Martin site is the location itself at Yankee Doodle
and Pilot Knob," says Thomas Palmquist, vice president of
commercial development for CSM Corporation, which acquired
the property in June. "That location is not only key in Eagan
but in the entire south metro."
In August, CSM requested a land -use designation change,
which would convert 85 percent of the property (41.2 acres)
from major office to retail -commercial while retaining 15
percent (6.2 acres) as major office.
"We feel that retail is the highest and best use of that property,"
says Palmquist, dismissing consumers' current negative out-
look. "Looking at the market in a one- or two-year window is a
bit myopic. Retailers look out considerably further than that
well beyond 15 or 20 years."
CSM's application will have a public hearing before the City's
Advisory Planning Commission on September 27 and the
Commission's recommendation will be considered by the City
Council on October 4. If the City Council supports the land -use
change, a rezoning application and detailed development
plans would be submitted for consideration in early 2012.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin retained a lease for the facility
and will continue to occupy it until March 2013.
"We welcome the upcoming dialogue, and I would expect to
see a number of comments that we'll need to respond to
with a resubmittal," says Palmquist. "Bottom line, we hope to
deliver a project that everyone can be proud of and that fits
the needs of the community." ■
The Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce plans to host its 2011 DCR Chamber Business Excellence Rewards at the newly
constructed Lost Spur Golf and Event Center on Thursday, September 22, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Featuring a super -hero theme, "Job Creators:
Today's Heroes," the event will honor roughly seven businesses for adding new jobs to today's economy. Rick King, chief technology officer for
Thomson Reuters' Professional Division, will serve as keynote. Tickets are $25 each. For more information, visit dcrchamber.com. ■
EBN is printed on paper which contains a minimum of 10% post consumer fiber. Eagan Business NEWS 3
City of Evan
3830 Pilot Knob Road • Eagan, MN 55122
Editor Karin B. Miller, Working Words, Inc.
Designer Brent Kastler, Kastler Art & Design
Send comments and story ideas to
EBN@cityofeagan.com.
Briefly
• PEOPLE: For his commitment to his Eagan -
based practice (Crutchfield Dermatology), his
patients and his profession, The Atlanta Post has
named Charles E. Crutchfield III., M.D., as
one of the "Top 21 Black Doctors in America."
A widely published physician, Dr. Crutchfield also
teaches at the University of Minnesota Medical
School, lectures at medical conferences and
serves as team physician for the Minnesota Twins and Vikings.
• BUSINESS: This fall Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota,
partnering with Linkwell Health, is sending its members national,
brand-name manufacturer coupons for healthful products, from
high -fiber pasta to dental -care items.... Eagan -based Capitol, a
home theater contractor, has added to its offerings MusicLites,
which combine wireless, high-fidelity speakers with LED lighting....
In order to provide owner -operators with the "strongest possible"
compensation, Dart Transit cut 48 non -driving support jobs and
its parent company, Dart Network, cut staff jobs by 19 in July....
Eagan -based Ergotron has introduced its latest height -adjustable
workstation, the WorkFit-D, Sit -Stand Desk.... Communications expert
NACR, based in Eagan, is offering its customers the chance to learn
4 Eagan Business NEWS
Standard
U.S. Postage
PAID
St. Paul, MN
Permit #7732
about SIPS — a.k.a. Session Initiation Protocols that allow the estab-
lishment, management and termination of point-to-point communications.
NACR's "Try a SIP" events take their cue from speed -dating, inviting
participants to move from table to table at an upscale restaurant,
learning about various SIP topics and participating in discussions while
enjoying refreshments. NACR's roadshow is traveling to 15 cities this
fall.... Outdoor GreatRoom was featured in a September 8 article in
Dakota County Tribune Business Weekly; the Eagan -based company
was featured for moving much of its operations, including manufacturing,
from overseas and Utah to Eagan last year.... Eagan's White House
Custom Colour introduced in August a new book -and -album sample
program to enable its clients — professional photographers — to
more easily sell books and albums to their customers. The program
invites WHCC clients to order studio samples — including 6 -foot -by -8 -
foot backdrops and press -printed magnets — at 25 percent off.
• GOVERNMENT: Dakota County's Office of Geographic
Information Systems is launching this fall a next -generation
911 system, using a new official database, based on a proposed
federal standard and including an official address for every address
in the County. Watch for more information in Eagan Business News
later this year. ■