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2001 Comprehensive Plan Amended February 26, 2002 XII. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT A. Historical Economic Development in Ramsey In the settlement days of Ramsey, the principal economy was trading. Settlers took advantage of major transportation routes to set up trading posts where goods were traded with members of the Winnebago, Sioux and Chippewa Indian tribes. Some settlers that came to the area took up farming; however, poor soil conditions prevented farming from becoming a strong part of the economy. In late 1800's and early 1900's, the major economic growth of the area was focused in the nearby City of Anoka, where the Rum River provided a source of power for the milling industry. The City of Anoka's downtown soon emerged as a center for jobs, business and entertainment and eventually became the Anoka County seat. It was not until the 1950's and 1960's that Ramsey began to see an interest in commercial and industrial development. As the early development of trading posts occurred along a major transportation route, so has recent development. Highway 10 is a major route connecting the Twin Cities to northern Minnesota and has seen a scattering of commercial and industrial developments occur over several years. Some new construction has taken place while other sites simply have converted farmhouses and farm buildings into businesses. Industrial park development has taken place in many phases over the last 30 years. In the late 60's and early 70's Gateway North Industrial Park Airport and Ramsey 67 Industrial Park developed north of the railroad tracks in the south central and southeastern portion of the community. This early development pattern essentially defined the general location for future industrial development, which now makes up the bulk of economic activity in the community. These parks saw development of some heavy industrial uses such as a concrete and masonry plant and heavy construction companies. Many of these businesses remain today and in some cases represent gross inefficiency urban land use. A more unique development that occurred was a business incubator, which has assisted the growth and expansion of numerous start-up businesses in Ramsey and subsequently sparked a need to provide industrial land for these companies to grow and expand within the City. Gateway North Industrial Park was created through redevelopment of the airport site, which was decommissioned in the early 1990's. In 1994 and 1995 the City began the development of Ramsey Business Park 95 by acquiring roughly 85 acres for industrial development. Around this same time a major utility company, The Anoka Electric Cooperative (now named Connexus Energy), began development of the AEC Energy Park. The AEC Energy Park is roughly 135 acres and is home to AEC's corporate headquarters. Both of these parks have rapidly filled up and the few remaining lots are under consideration by several companies and expected to be developed by the end of 1998. A strong industrial market made much of this development possible. As vacancy rates in the metropolitan area were extremely low in the early 1990's, many companies looked to build new facilities rather than pay increased rent rates to renew leases. During this time, the entire Metropolitan area saw similar growth in the industrial market. Other contributing elements to the success of Ramsey's industrial growth include its location along a major transportation corridor between St. Cloud and Minneapolis/St. Paul (including convenient rail access), the availability of a highly trained labor force, the 2001 Ramsey Comprehensive Plan Amended February 26, 2002 Page XII-1