BAXTER — The City of Baxter must have made Santa’s “nice” list this holiday season.
After a long economic drought, the city is positioning itself for a commercial building boom in 2012 if plans continue. This includes the addition of Costco, Olive Garden, a strip mall and several new building applications to be heard for the first time before the Baxter Planning and Zoning Commission in early January. Plans for renovating Westgate Mall are also in the works.
“It’s ending up to be a very good year,” said Baxter Public Works Director Trevor Walter.
After nearly five months of meetings with city staff to work out the details, Costco received a series of conditional use permits and other approvals at Tuesday’s Baxter City Council meeting. The next step will be approval of a developer’s agreement and a building permit and Costco will then close on the property, which should come before the city council in late February or early March, said Walter. Walter said the plan is that Costco will open in October or November of 2012.
Walter said the city planning and zoning commission also has four new applications it will hear at its next meeting on Jan. 10. The applications should come before the city council at its Jan. 17 regular meeting.
An application has been made to build an Olive Garden in front of JC Penney’s. The application includes a separate strip mall at the same location, including a drive-through service window. Another application is for the former Paul Bunyan Bowl owned by Mills Properties, which is proposed to open as a gun and archery range, said Walter.
Brock White Co., a construction materials supplier located south of Bob’s Building Supply on Highway 210 in Baxter, is proposing to move to the Potlatch Industrial Park.
Minnesota Community Net, a state-operated service of adult group homes and day treatment programs for people with developmental disabilities, is proposing to expand in the Baxter Industrial Park.
Walter said the city also got two new house permits this week.
Comments (20)
Add commentOh Boy!
The positive in this article is not that we are going to be subjected to another chain restauraunt that cooks pre packaged food in a microwave, or that the area will have yet another strip mall. It is the fact that the new buildings will be south of hwy 210 and not encroaching closer to the lakes that actually draw people to this are. Good Job! I like the idea of the gun range too!
Disagree hayseed
If the article is accurate, this will be yet another example of Baxter allowing development that completely ignores the intent of it's residents and it's own comprehensive development plan.
The corridor along 371 has been allowed to be developed to a condition that would fit right in with any strip mall blighted area in hundreds of similar locations in the country.
Residents and the comp plan called for retaining a northwoods character along this strip.
Yet each time a developer comes calling with a plan along that strip, they allow complete clearing of vegetation, along with large parking lots often in view in front of the buildings rather than tucked around them or behind them. If there is any requirement for replanting, the trees stuck in are few and short, and the city doesn't follow up to insure they are cared for over time.
Look at JC penneys right now. That whole lot was forested. Cleared, with a parking lot right on the highway side of the corrdior. Now they are going to allow the small amount of trees on the highway side that were left after penney's deforestation to go down for an olive garden.
On the north side they allowed a small strip of trees planted specifically as a buffer to future development to be taken out when that development finally came along.
God help you if you don't work with them on your building's appearance though....they sure do put a lot of attention into siding, color, signs, etc.
lol, hayseed. Get your
lol, hayseed. Get your Riddell on .... the gourmets and bonvivants who will be lined up waiting to get in the door on opening day are going to be whipping you up with overcooked linguini.
As for Baxter
I am glad on one hand that there will be a building boom, aka jobs, but one wonders for how long. On the other, when I leave Maple Grove to go up north, is it going to turn into another metro area? And once these businesses are in place, will they provide good jobs with descent pay?
Twin Cities of the North
This unwarranted build up has been going on for decades with little to no regard for the local environment, atmosphere or residents.
As far as jobs, it will be a continuation of the status-qua. Low pay, part time dead end slave work.
Love Olive Garden one time out of the year except having to wait for an hour or more to get a seat. (They are always too small for the amount of people going there and their main focus now is selling their brand wine. Look it up. its on the web.)
Costco will have 20,000 people vying for 200 jobs. A little known fact is that they do not hire full time and only promote to full time within. Those full time jobs are heavily guarded by those that have them. Having done a little research, it was found that they also have scores of FT employees working at other stores from the cities that will be transferring up here to take this one over when it opens. So that's not much of a boost in the job market for the local workforce.
A gun range would be fun, but we already have a couple of archery ranges. If this mini-twin cities wants to be like the major one down south, have some outdoor archery ranges in the parks.
We already have an endless supply of empty store fronts, businesses and overpriced homes, and yet the building wave continues like a tsunami.
Quit coddling and climbing into bed with all these developers and other entities who are only coming here to wreak havoc on the area, turn a fast buck and run.
It's also time for all these city and county councils to pull the heads out of you know where and listen to what the people who live and are trying to work here have to say and stop this believing every study and survey that comes down the road telling us what's good for us when they have absolutely no clue.
This is a mini-twin cities and has been for years, we allowed it to happen and have done nothing to stop it except get led around like a bull on a nose ring.
One thing that Olive Garden
One thing that Olive Garden offers is consistency in their food. That I appreciate. However, I think that if they come, another will fall. survival of the fittest? Maybe. The Lodge Bar and Grill has the best food in the area due to their kitchen staff. IMO, but it is always slow when I go there. How can new restaurants survive when people don't go out unless they have half off coupons? AND do not tip appropriately?
GEEZ-OH-PETE!! You people
GEEZ-OH-PETE!! You people would complain if you farted gold! In case you haven't noticed, it's the negative "northwoods" attitude that has caused the blight in the lakes area. Everyone sitting around rubbing their hands together waiting for the next business to fail then pointing and laughing, saying "I told you they would go under"! What do you have against creating jobs, and maybe even more of a destination than we already are? You all do realize this area has the HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE STATE don't you? It would be nice to see the long time "cronies" of the area be leaders and take on a more positive attitude and realize that growth = a healthier community economically and socially. It will have a positive impact on schools, housing, jobs, wages, existing business local resorts. Gosh, people might even want to move here again! IMAGINE THAT! People will still eat at their favorite restaurants IF they stay consistant, and people will still shop at their favorite little shops IF they provide good product and customer service. Get off the negative fence and see this all as a positive in your life!!!
My thoughts
Really, a tsunami of building in Baxter???? Have you seen the number of building permits in Baxter, hardly a tsunami, not even a "light rain" of building permits. Sure there are some empty businesses but they are also starting to fill. Look at the complex by buffalo wild wings, a new pizza ranch, game stop etc. I agree that with most retail and restaurants the jobs are not enought to substantiate a full time income but jobs are better then no jobs. Costco will bring some full time jobs whether they hire from with in, outside, offer trasfers etc is up to them. Last time I check people can run their businesses how they want to. I can see building people from within, only hiring quality part time and promoting the best to full time. Weird, rewarding people for hard work, wow what a thought. Allowing quality staff the oprutunity to transfer, what a benefit, shame on Costco for treating their employees well (sarcasm just in case you don't catch it), the hard workers, and providing them a benefit to relocate their families to a wonderful area. I was raised in the corporate world that if you treat your staff well they will treat your customers well. I applaud Costco if they treat their staff well so I will be treated well as a customer. While I would like them to hire our local quality staff I can't blame them for utilizing current quality staff or hiring part time and promoting hard workers to full time status hopefully with a good wage. Our area needs quality jobs, but the jobs won't grow, the area won't grow with out quality attractions like our geography and a good economy including stores and businesses.
I am happy to see more businesses coming to our area. Great job Baxter city council, while I like the trees too hopefully we can find a balance to uphold our beautiful community and grow.
vanryzer
say this aint so: Costco will have 20,000 people vying for 200 jobs. A little known fact is that they do not hire full time and only promote to full time within. Those full time jobs are heavily guarded by those that have them. Having done a little research, it was found that they also have scores of FT employees working at other stores from the cities that will be transferring up here to take this one over when it opens. So that's not much of a boost in the job market for the local workforce.
. snowda/lake says that Costco aint like that!
Flour-Child
Gold Star for you!!
not me, jo
never been in a cosco
Make that 2 gold stars for
Make that 2 gold stars for Flour-child!
Flower child...
Sounds just like the Baxter Mayor and some of their councilors current and past--particularly those directly involved in development in their civilian employment.
Automatically painting people who just want sustainable development that fits in with the local character of the area--practiced according to the wishes of the majority of residents-- as being against development.
Asking for sustainable development with some attention to retention of the local character per the wishes of city residents IS NOT the same as being against development.
Sometimes I wonder if developers ever outgrew their days of playing in the sandbox with their tonka toys--all the plans seem to involve totally wiping out what they have to start with and building everything anew, in a grand scale.
The truth is that it is very possible to develop even big box stores without denuded the site of all native vegetation--without monstrous parking lots--without huge signs and unobstructed views of the whole building, parking lot, and sign from any location along the road.
Baxter's comprehensive plan even recognizes this. It includes development concepts promoted by local citizens--the issue is that many of them are simply not being followed.
what i don't understand is..
How everyone KNOWS what will not work. If that is the case you MUST know what WILL. If you know what won't work and and what will, then start your business that is a guaranteed success and create thousands of jobs and millions of dollars. I mean it is that simple right?
Terry
I fully agree! We need industry, not to be confused with the service industry. Industry is the base of any local economy, along with sound money that is backed by either gold or silver and not simply "printed" out of thin air. We need products that are made HERE, We need products made here that locals can be proud of, invest in and stand behind. THOSE are the businesses that we need in this area.
mav...
That is my point. Since you are so smart and know what we need, then why don't you provide it? It is easy to take shots from the cheap seats. Not so much to throw your hat in the ring and give it a shot of your own.
jomammy
This is exactly how Costco operates. No one gets hired full time (except into corporate management), period . The only ones that actually become full time are promoted to an empty position within, but those empty positions are extremely far and few between as anyone who has one, isn't giving it up. Having spent a fair amount of time with HR asking pointed questions about their hiring, advancement, benefits, transferring practices and such, it was told quite emphatically that they hire part time only. It was asked about taking a position with say, a sister store in the cities and getting a transfer up here when this one opens. It was then said that, the only ones who will be getting transferred up here are going to be the full timers already working at a store in the cities and they will be the ones operating the store here. There are a lot of people already working for Costco in the cities that will be transferring up to this store and the only new hires here will be part time, and part time only. The only benefit in that is, Costco does pay more per hour part time than anyone else around here, but again, it will be part time, no benefits and maybe up to 200 jobs, if that many available for new hire.
City of Brainerd
Any progress on the city's marketing plan to fill the empty lots in the Industrial Park ?
Myeye, of course there is.
I understand the lots are posted on the nation-wide MLS.
That should spark huge interest, eh?
did they recover
their manhole covers or is the road still shut down? how do you disduise a manhole cover and sell it a few blocks away?