Waiting for things to develop
With projects at standstill, two area developers are playing the waiting game
In business and in life, it's often all a matter of timing.
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For two high profile area developments - Baxter Town Center on the former Pine Meadows Golf Course and the Baxter Village along Highway 371 - the economic downturn put the brakes on what had been a hot market.
But developers at both sites have confidence they will see things turn around. Now it's just a matter of waiting.
At Baxter Town Center, developer Craig Fink, president of the Denali Real Estate Group, said the changing economic times had a direct effect on the plan at the site of the former Pine Meadows Golf Course.
Fink said a purchase agreement with a big box retailer was in hand a year ago. But by the time the deal traveled through channels the economy had slowed and the retailer, which Fink didn't name, decided to cut in half the number of stores it was going to build.
The grass grows on the former Pine Meadows Golf Course, which Denali Companies is developing into the Baxter Town Center. The golf course, along Golf Course Drive and Excelsior Road in Baxter, dated back to the 1920s. The golf course closed in the fall of 2004 and its sale to the Denali group was finalized in the summer of 2005.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
Without that drop, Fink said the retailer would have created construction work and employees would have been busy building there last winter.
"That's all been delayed as a direct relation to what's going on with our national economy," Fink said. "The whole commercial real estate market is somewhat paralyzed. It's unlike anything I've ever seen to get any construction financing."
At Baxter Village, owner/developer Andy Anderson, founder and chief executive officer of Anderson Financial Group, said the economic downturn happened a lot faster than everyone predicted, catching people by surprise and the lakes area is not immune.
"I'm glad I have the building up," Anderson said. "It's definitely a positive."
While it's a slow period, Anderson said there has been more activity in the last few weeks than in the last few months and existing stores are doing better.
Baxter Village's phase one, including anchor Famous Dave's, opened in 2005. Phase two, which was still without tenants recently, was completed in late 2007.
» Purchase reprints of this photo.Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
Baxter Village's phase one, including anchor Famous Dave's, opened in 2005. Phase two, which was still without tenants recently, was completed in late 2007.
A year and a half ago, Anderson said it seemed there was a long way to go before things hit rock bottom. Now he said the market seems to be bouncing around the bottom with the anticipation for a climb.
"I think that's the big question for everyone out there," Anderson said of when things will go back up. But with more activity, Anderson said people are seeing opportunity.
Fink said his group is ready to ride out the current economic times, but he said the interest payments and property taxes don't stop.
"We're committed and moving forward," Fink said. "We've just got to be patient."
Fink thinks a turnaround will be measured in months and not years. The Cypress Drive extension is opening to traffic now that the Clearwater connection has been established. Even in these times, Fink said the Brainerd lakes area is positioned better than most as people won't stop aging and wanting to retire here.
"That's the biggest advantage we have going in our area, people do want to live here so eventually one way or another they will," Fink said.
"It's a matter of getting through these tough times," Anderson said. "Bottom line is it's a great area - the Brainerd lakes area. We are not immune to what's going on everywhere else. We'll get through it and we'll be better because of it."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.