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The Ramsey Business Letter September 1997, Volume 3 THE CITY OF RAMSEY WELCOMES ACCENT HOME & KITCHEN CENTER The City of Ramsey is proud to announce the construc- tion of a new 48,000 square foot facility for AcCent Home & Kitchen Center. This facility will be located in the Ramsey Business Park, currently being devel- oped along McKinley Street N.W. The new facility was made possible through the joint cooperation of AcCent Home & Kitchen Center, AMCON Construc- tion, Central Minnesota Development Company, and the City of Ramsey. "This is another example of how the City, through the development of unique partner- ships, can provide for the growth of the industrial tax base of the community and the growth ofa local company," stated Mayor Tom Gamec. He further added that the City of Ramsey now has 264,000 square feet of industrial projects currently under construction. This makes 1997 the second most active year ever, with over five months still remaining. Duane Jones, President, started the company as D & E Cabinets and Millwork, Inc. from his garage in 1966. Three years later, the business had outgrown the garage, basement, and addition that had been made available and, in 1969, a separate building was con- structed. In 1978, it was decided that, to better service its customers, sales should be separated from manufac- turing and AcCent Home & Kitchen Center, Inc. was introduced. AcCent was located in Anoka and prima- rily operated as a retail sales location for products produced by D & E Cabinets and Millwork, but they also retail appliances, counter tops, and other kitchen and bath accessories. In 1997, with all three locations in need of expansion, and another year of growth ahead, the company knew something had to change. A number of options were considered, but in order to best utilize the talents of all the company's people and to gain efficiencies in scale, it was decided to expand the three separate operations into a single building in the City of Ramsey. This new building will be 20% larger than the total of the current facilities and is designed to maximize the company's manufacturing ability while providing the largest kitchen/bath showroom in the area. (Continued on Page 3) l, CITY OF RAMSEY'S INVESTMENT ENCOURAGES ECONOMIC GROWTH When the City of Ramsey purchased 101 vacant industrial acres in the southeast quadrant of the City in 1994 and 1995, it was with the hope that commercial/industrial development would be easier to accomplish on City-owned property. Three years later, more than one million square feet of commercial/industrial buildings have been constructed in the City, and all but 40 of the original 1 0 1 acres is under development or reserved for projects to be completed in 1997. The resulting growth has added $35 million to the City's tax base. To raise the equivalent amount of property taxes from residential property would require the construction of more than 614 new homes with an average value of$150,000 each. All of the projects that have been completed "pay their own way". In other words the general taxpayers in the City of Ramsey have not subsidized the development efforts of the City. This fundamentally sound strategy will allow for the City of Ramsey to continue to provide a stable place for businesses to operate. Besides having a positive impact on the City's tax base now and in the future, the new businesses have created more than 200 new jobs paying at least $10 per hour. This tally does not include the 40 new jobs which will be created by Vision-Ease Lens in conjunction with a forgivable loan the company received from the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED). That loan will be leveraged with a training program from Anoka-Hennepin Technical College to provide continued employment opportunities for residents of the area. . Economic development is a continuing goal of the City of Ramsey. The City has developed several programs to assist new and/or expanding businesses which will add job opportunities to the area and strengthen the tax base of the community. To learn more about these programs and how they may work for your business, contact any City Councilmember, City Administrator Ryan Schroeder or Economic Development Coordinator Jim Gromberg at 427- 1410.