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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2040 Chapter 10 - Economic Competitiveness City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 744 CHAPTER 10, ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS 10.1 Economic Competitiveness Economic competitiveness in the context of comprehensive planning is the examination of the institutions, policies and other factors that strengthen Prior Lake’s ability to compete effectively and prosper in the global economy. Economic development in general is the retention, attraction and growth of businesses in the community. Economic Development in Prior Lake is effectively carried out by organizations such as the City of Prior Lake Economic Development Authority (EDA), City of Prior Lake Business Engagement Committee (BEC), Scott County Community Development Agency First Stop Shop (FSS), Greater MSP, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), the Prior lake Chamber of Commerce and local businesses. 10.2 2040 Vision and Strategic Plan The City of Prior Lake’s 2040 Vision and Strategic Plan is the road map to the future. The components of the plan were developed over the years through robust citizen engagement, including a community survey, to ensure resident input on city priorities. The plan is updated every two years; the last update occurred in 2018 when more than 100 business owners, residents and other stakeholders gathered to share their thoughts on the vision for Prior Lake. The 2040 Vision and Strategic Plan identified five goal areas,  High-Value City Services  Public Safety  Desirable & Sustainable Development  Transportation & Mobility  Environmental Stewardship & Recreation Each of the goal areas include objectives to reach the goals. The objectives in the Desirable & Sustainable Development goal area that support economic competitiveness include:  Intentional land use planning that facilitates commercial development for an expanded tax base.  Preserve and enhance Prior Lake’s small-town feel.  Explore ways to encourage downtown as a vibrant destination.  Encourage development and preservation of quality life-cycle residential housing options.  Create appealing public spaces and transportation corridors to bring people together and foster a sense of place. 10.3 Community Survey As a component of the Vision & Strategic Plan, the City of Prior Lake conducts a community survey to gauge resident satisfaction with city services and to help establish City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 745 city priorities. The survey responses provide insight into what residents view as the city’s strengths and opportunities for improvement, and they help the city evaluate service delivery and plan for the future. The most recent community survey, a telephone survey of a representative sample from 400 residents, was conducted in 2017. The survey contained a broad range of questions, including quality of life, priorities for city government, and ratings of city services. Prior Lake residents continue to give high ratings to the quality of life in the community with 96% of respondents stating that the quality of life here is good or excellent. 75% of respondents supported continued community development in the city; 71% support or strongly support financial incentives to attract development. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 746 10.4 EDA Business Plan The Prior Lake Economic Development Authority (EDA) proposes specific economic development plans, projects or strategies to enhance the economic strength of the community. The EDA and the City of Prior Lake in general, encourages thoughtful and orderly economic and community development to provide retail and services for our residents, create employment opportunities through retention and expansion of existing businesses and attraction of new businesses, ensure high quality residential and business development, and build a strong and diverse tax base. The Prior Lake EDA has produced a business plan identifying key initiatives and implementation strategies for the EDA. The fundamental purpose of the business plan is to guide the EDA as it develops and implements strategic initiatives through 2020, 2030 and 2040, and to encourage desirable development or redevelopment within our community that may not otherwise occur. The following actions have been identified by the City of Prior Lake Economic Development Authority (EDA) as key initiatives. All initiatives work together to support a business community that is focused on technology, job creation, diversification of tax base and Prior Lake’s strengths in entertainment and recreation. 1. Special Revenue Fund Economic Development Initiatives. Periodically the EDA will request that the City Council allocate funds from the Prior Lake General Fund (Fund 101) to the EDA Special Revenue Fund (Fund 240). The EDA will utilize funds from the EDA Special Revenue Fund to accomplish the following economic development initiatives in 2018 and beyond. Initiatives include but are not limited to: i) property acquisition; ii) storefront rehabilitation; iii) direction and promotional signage such as banner poles, visitor kiosks, or wayfinding signage; iv) economic development and redevelopment loans and incentives; v) new business attraction through website enhancements and marketing; vi) efforts to facilitate commercial development and redevelopment; and vii) enhancing the character of commercial areas. 2. Technology Village Business Accelerator. Technology Village opened in January 2013 on the main floor of Prior Lake City Hall within a previously underutilized office space of approximately 2,000 square feet. Initiating the program in the existing city hall building helped minimize start-up costs and allowed for the shared use of services already in place serving City of Prior Lake staff, including; internet, phone, meeting space, cafeteria/break room, etc. The office space within city hall also provided the added locational benefit of allowing the program participants to be near city staff who administer the day-to-day program operations. The Technology Village Board of Directors developed a ‘virtual’ participant program in 2016. The virtual program is designed to provide support to emerging technology and professional service businesses located in Prior Lake, or throughout Scott County, which are not physically located in the designated Technology Village space. The virtual program provides an opportunity for businesses, which may be home-based or are already established in an office space, to participate and benefit from the Technology Village Business Accelerator program. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 747 In 2018, the EDA shifted its Technology Village focus from a City of Prior Lake program into a county-wide model, which will be managed by First Stop Shop staff within the Scott County Community Development Agency. 3. Targeted Areas for Development. The EDA will help facilitate commercial development in three targeted areas around highway intersections, including: (i) CH 21 / TH 13; (ii) CH 21 / CH 42; and (iii) CH 42 / TH 13. It will also help facilitate full development of the remaining lots within the 50-acre Deerfield Business Park and maximize development potential within the 40-acre Welcome Industrial Park. Redevelopment opportunities also exist in certain locations, such as Welcome Avenue and downtown Prior Lake. 4. Downtown Parking. In 2015, SRF Consulting Group completed a Downtown Parking Analysis. The purpose of the study was to build upon previous parking studies by identifying downtown sites that will best accommodate future public parking demand, including structured parking facilities. Prior Lake is fortunate to not only have very little downtown vacancy, but the downtown is also seeing some significant commercial development and redevelopment activity. With the increased activity and occupied storefronts, convenient municipal parking stalls will become more difficult to locate. The EDA will review the Downtown Parking Analysis and determine which short, mid and long-term implementation steps should be pursued. 5. Commercial Activity During Construction. Prior Lake will see some significant road improvement projects in upcoming years along key transportation networks. The EDA will work with commercial businesses and stakeholders in these areas, as well as the Chamber of Commerce, Business Engagement Committee and other groups to maintain and encourage the economic vitality of our businesses before, during and after these construction projects. To implement these key initiatives, the EDA will: • Work with downtown stakeholders (residents, current and potential business owners, etc.) toward an integrated construction and financing plan for streetscaping and building construction/remodeling to maintain and encourage the economic vitality of downtown businesses through the TH13/CR21 corridor improvement project and facilitate future downtown development. • Establish a process and plan to target resources for economic opportunities that provide significant benefits to Prior Lake, including those that may include property acquisition and direct support to commercial and industrial development. • Continue to guide the Business Engagement Committee and support the Technology Village Board of Directors as they implement the recommendations of the Phase II.5 Technology Village Business Accelerator Plan, including expansion opportunities within Scott County. • Explore opportunities to identify, assist and encourage commercial and industrial development along the CH21 and CH42 commercial corridors. • Conduct an annual meeting each with the Scott County CDA First Stop Shop, the Prior Lake City Council, the Prior Lake Planning Commission and Technology Village Board of Directors as well as quarterly meetings with the Business Engagement Committee to promote partnerships and collaboration. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 748 10.5 Employment Employment is the backbone of a healthy and functioning economy. Understanding the dynamics of Prior Lake’s existing and future employment base is essential to maintaining and improving local economic vitality and regional economic competitiveness. The top employment industry in Prior Lake is accommodation and food services (40%) followed by public administration (12%) and other services excluding public administration (8%). Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, 2nd quarter data; Metropolitan Council staff have estimated some data points. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2013-2017 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Prior Lake has a Civilian employed population 16 years and over of 13,275. 46.2% of Prior Lake’s residents work in Management, business, science and arts occupations; 10.9% work in service occupations; 24.7% in sales and office occupations; 7.9% in natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations; 10.4% in production, transportation and material moving occupations. The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages shows employment in Prior Lake has been very stable since 2000 with a high employment of 8,317 in 2017 and a low employment of 7,766 in 2010. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 749 10.6 Major Employers Employer Type Employees SMSC Gaming Enterprises Gaming Establishment 5,008 Prior Lake Ind. School Dist. #719 Elementary & Secondary Schools 1,195 YMCA Youth Center 500 Little Six Casino Gaming Establishment 400 Wilds Golf Club Golf Courses and Clubs 150 Indian Health Services Public Health Services Administration 122 SMSC Gaming Enterprises Other Family Services 75 Phillips and Temro Industries Motor Vehicle Metal Stamping 65 Husson's Concessions Restaurants 60 Insurance Paramedical Services Insurance Agencies and Brokers 60 10.7 Education According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2013-2017), 96.6% of Prior Lake residents age 25 years or more is a high school graduate or higher compared to 94.9% in Scott County and 92.8% for the State of Minnesota. 44.7% of Prior Lake residents age 25 years or more has a bachelor’s degree or higher compared to 38.9% in Scott County and 34.8% for the State of Minnesota. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 750 Source: U.S. Census Bureau Decennial Census 10.8 Income Median household income (in 2017 dollars) in Prior Lake was $100,190; this is $7,039 higher than the median household income in Scott County and $34,491 higher than the median household income in the State of Minnesota according to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2013-2017). 10.9 Market Analysis Maxfield Research completed a Commercial and Industrial Demand Analysis for Scott County in 2017. The Maxfield report identified a demand for an additional 887,000 square feet of retail space, 100,433 square feet of additional office space and 468,165 square feet of additional industrial space in Prior Lake between 2015 to 2040. The same study projected 129.9 to 152.5 acres of land will be needed to accommodate this additional 1,455,598 square feet of retail, office and industrial space. 10.10 Commuting Patterns Much of Prior Lake’s workforce commutes outside of the community for work. The U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (2013-2017) identifies a 28.2-minute mean travel time to work for workers age 16 years or older. As more employment opportunities are created in Prior Lake and Scott County and more employees are able to work from their homes, the mean travel time is expected to decrease. 10.11 Scott County CDA – First Stop Shop and Other Resources The Scott County CDA First Stop Shop (FSS) is an economic development resource for all Scott Count cities and townships. Services offered include, but are not limited to, comprehensive data collection and management, site selection assistance, education and training, process improvement, research and marketing assistance, assistance with City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 751 funding identification, and connections to an extensive network of resources. The First Stop Shop erases borders between jurisdictions to provide the best service possible to those who are considering Scott County for their business' location. FSS is a member of MNCAR and the GreaterMSP.  FSS coordinates the Economic Development Incentive Grant Program (the “EDI Program”), which was established in March of 2014 and is funded by the Scott County CDA. The goals of the EDI Program are to facilitate the creation of jobs, increase the tax base and improve the quality of life in Scott County through two specific strategies: Corridor Readiness and Technical Planning Assistance.  MCCD Open to Business Program. The Open to Business program is a collaboration between the Scott County CDA and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD). An Open to Business Advisor is available to provide one-on-one business counseling assistance customized to meet the needs of current business owners and prospective entrepreneurs. Financing is also available to qualified applicants. The Open to Business program is funded through FSS and the CDA and offered free of charge to Scott County businesses or residents.  Economic Gardening. Scott County offers a national program aimed at cultivating "second stage" business to grow and thrive in our region. Scott County, in partnership with Hennepin, Ramsey, and Carver counties, the Edward Lowe Foundation, and the National Center for Economic Gardening coordinate the program. As a part of the program accepted companies participate in CEO roundtables and forums, as well as receive approximately 50 hours of directed, targeted research. All of the fees associated with the Economic Gardening program are covered by Scott County. Now it is fourth year, Scott County is part of the largest multi-county Economic Gardening program in the nation. As of 2017, the FSS is overseeing the program.  Business Incubator/Accelerator Programs - In 2012, the City of Prior Lake launched its own business accelerator program. Technology Village began with approximately 2,000 square feet of space on the main floor of Prior Lake City Hall; including offices, a conference room, and approximately 800 square feet of open co- working/collaboration space. The offices were furnished, and participants were provided resources such as internet, phone, printer/copier, and a break room. A six- member Board of Directors has guided the direction of the accelerator and served as mentors to the participants. The overall management has been coordinated by city staff and the EDA. In 2015, Prior Lake hired a consultant, Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc., to assess the Technology Village Business Accelerator (TVBA) and provide recommendations for its future direction, including possible expansion or relocation. The study recommended the expansion of the program to a county-wide business incubator/business accelerator program. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 752 Although the report recommends a single, centralized location for a county-wide incubator, the estimated $2.5M for development of that scenario is not currently feasible. Moving forward, it is envisioned the current TVBA program will transition to a Scott County CDA program managed by the FSS, who will work closely with the cities who have open space available to create satellite sites where the city would cover any office/site costs (including utilities), furnish the office space and provide equipment. 10.12 SCALE The Scott County Association for Leadership & Efficiency (SCALE) was formed in the spring of 2003 to encourage greater efficiencies and leadership in public service through enhanced communication, collaboration of services, and sharing of resources. Members include elected and appointed officials from the cities, schools, and townships within Scott County, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and Scott County. The mission of SCALE is to forge new and innovative ways in which government entities can collaborate to provide superior services while making the most of limited resources. SCALE members meet monthly to discuss ways in which local governments can continue to maximize the value of taxpayers' money through cooperating in mutual service areas, such as public safety, parks and recreation, transportation, community development, and general government. By building upon existing partnerships, SCALE is helping public officials fully realize the benefits of multijurisdictional cooperation and make the most of local government resources. In April 2016, SCALE established four work groups and a steering committee to accomplish a “50 by 30” initiative. The goal of the work groups is to advance a “Collective Impact Approach” to achieving 50% of the County’s labor force living and working in the County by 2030. The four workforce groups established to help accomplish this goal were Housing, Workforce Readiness, Transportation and Educational Preparedness. The Workforce Readiness work group’s vision is to “Elevate each person’s contribution to the community through a rich variety of local employment opportunities and career pathways.” The group has been working to attract more businesses to the county; increasing the number of high value jobs; ensuring employees are healthy, prepared and have the skill sets, mind sets, and content knowledge skills to take advantage of local employment opportunities. 10.13 Downtown Development and Redevelopment The City of Prior Lake has in the past and will continue to invest in the downtown area. Planned improvements along County Highway 21 and State Highway 13 will enhance pedestrian safety and traffic mobility in the downtown area. Recent private investments in new retail, office and restaurant businesses have energized development and redevelopment in the downtown area and increased customer traffic. The Prior Lake EDA has identified a number of legally non-conforming properties in the downtown area that may be targets for future redevelopment projects. Because of the limited downtown area, redevelopment will be key for downtown Prior Lake to evolve to City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 753 meet the shopping, recreation and entertainment needs of the community as it continues to grow. Land that is underutilized and potentially contaminated contributes to blight, loss of property values and may adversely affect public health. There are vacant or underutilized commercial properties within downtown Prior Lake and the City has had success recently with a few of these properties being (re)developed. The City has assisted recent redevelopment projects with the use of tax abatement, revolving loan funds and a deferred sewer access charge loan. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 754 One of the primary concerns for businesses in the downtown area is the perceived lack of customer and employee parking. Prior Lake has conducted two downtown parking studies in recent years. Both studies showed that overall, parking needs are being met with today’s existing supply. However, there are certain blocks in the downtown that experience a higher degree of parking pressure during peak times. The City is evaluating a number of parking strategies below that may be implemented to help better manage parking needs. Implementing these strategies in the near-term will better position the City in handling future parking needs as the downtown (re)develops over time.  Short-Term (1 – 3 years) o Implement a 3-hour public parking restriction at key locations along Main Avenue and Dakota Street. o Install public parking signs at the entrances to all off-street municipal lots. o Install public parking wayfinding signage at identified locations in the downtown area. o Resurface the municipal parking lot on Colorado Street. o Coordinate downtown business employee parking away from on-street parking to underutilized public parking lots. o Evaluate the use of a district-wide parking ordinance approach, which establishes parking requirements for downtown buildings on an individual site and area need basis. o Update and monitor downtown parking utilization counts using the Parking Generation Model.  Mid-Term (4 – 5 years) o Develop a funding plan to finance a future public parking lot and/or structure on the lumber yard site. o Reconstruct the municipal parking lot on Colorado Street. o Update and monitor downtown parking utilization counts using the Parking Generation Model.  Long-Term (5+ years) o Begin acquisition of property to construct a new public parking lot and/or structure to serve future downtown parking needs. o Evaluate future parking needs and establish new goals and objectives for the next ten years. 10.14 Business Development The city of Prior Lake will continue to encourage new commercial development throughout the city to diversify the city’s tax base as well as provide employment, shopping and entertainment opportunities for residents. To encourage commercial development, the City of Prior Lake will consider the use of business subsidies. The fundamental purpose of providing business subsidies in the City of Prior Lake is to encourage desirable development or redevelopment that may not otherwise occur; not to enhance the return on investment for individual projects. It is the policy of the City of Prior Lake to provide subsidies and incentives in the most limited fashion possible to assure that the project will proceed. The City reserves the right City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 755 to approve or reject projects on a case-by-case basis, considering established policies, specific project criteria, and demand on city services in relation to the potential benefits to be achieved from a proposed project. This process is inherently subjective, and whether a project receives a business subsidy or not may be as much a function of the City’s budget as the merit of the project. While it is recognized that the creation of good paying jobs is a desirable goal that benefits the city, it must also be recognized that not all projects assisted with business subsidies derive their public purposes solely by virtue of job creation. The City believes that each economic development opportunity offers its own unique benefit to the city, whether it be retail, commercial or industrial in nature. These benefits may be in the form of added tax base, new or retained jobs and higher incomes, overall investment in the area, business diversification and/or increased economic activity and vitality. It is the desire of the City to promote job creation, redevelopment and investment as well as to expand the city’s tax base and diversify the city’s industrial, commercial and retail base. In accordance with the MN Business Subsidy Law, the City considers using business subsidies to assist private development projects in an attempt to achieve one or more of the following public purpose objectives:  To retain local jobs and/or increase the number and diversity of jobs that offer stable employment and/or attractive wages and benefits.  To enhance and diversify the City of Prior Lake’s tax base.  To encourage additional unsubsidized private development in the area, either directly or indirectly, through “spin off” development.  To achieve development on sites that may not be developed without business subsidies assistance.  To remove blight and/or encourage development of commercial and industrial areas in the city that result in higher quality development or redevelopment and private investment.  To offset increased costs of development for specific properties when the unique physical characteristics of the site may otherwise preclude private investment. 10.15 Business Subsidy Policies and Guidelines City staff along with the Economic Development Authority (EDA), Business Engagement Committee (BEC) and City Council, have updated or developed guidelines and policies related to financing or incentive programs over the past few years; examples include:  City of Prior Lake Business Subsidies Policy Updates This policy establishes guidelines and criteria regarding the use of business subsidies, such as tax increment financing, tax abatement, loans and other business subsidies for private development projects within the City of Prior Lake. These guidelines and criteria are in addition to the requirements and limitations set forth by provisions of Minnesota Statute 116J.993 – 116J.995 (MN Business Subsidy Law).  Adoption of a Local Business Incentives Policy This policy establishes guidelines and criteria regarding the use of local business incentives that are not subject to the requirements and limitations set forth by provisions of Minnesota Statute 116J.993 – 116J.995 (MN Business Subsidy Law). City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 756  Updates to the Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund Guidelines These guidelines establish policies and procedures to regulate, coordinate and facilitate the workflow for underwriting new financing requests, servicing revolving loans and ensuring borrower compliance with loan terms and conditions; including regulations established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for use of Federal funds.  Development of the Technology Village Business Accelerator Business Plans The Technology Village Business Accelerator business plan helps guide the planning and formulating of programming and direction of the Technology Village program as well as ensuring the overall financial viability of the business accelerator program.  Creation of an EDA Business Plan This business plan helps guide the Prior Lake Economic Development Authority as it develops and implements strategic initiatives.  Updates to the City of Prior Lake Sewer and Water Fee Deferral Program Policy This policy governs the use of two programs, including the Metropolitan Council’s “SAC Deferral Program” for certain sewer fees (Regional Program) and the City of Prior Lake’s “Payment of Permit Fees” for certain sewer and water fees (Local Program). The policy establishes procedures to regulate, coordinate and facilitate the approval of certain sewer and water fee deferrals for eligible businesses or properties. 10.16 Available Incentives Economic development incentives come in several forms to help facilitate an economic development project. A thorough evaluation of the project’s needs as compared to the eligibility requirements of various incentive programs helps determine which economic development assistance programs may, or may not, be utilized. The following economic development incentives are available for use by the City of Prior Lake for certain economic development projects. Not all incentives are available for each project and projects may be offered more than one incentive. The type and number of incentives is the sole discretion of the City of Prior Lake. Incentives are as follows: Tax Increment Financing – A development tool whereby the taxes generated by a development or redevelopment project are used to pay the costs of the project. Four types of Tax Increments Districts are used for different projects: Economic Development District – for new industrial expansion and job creation purposes. Redevelopment District – to redevelop or reuse previously developed land and/or buildings. Usually used for building code issues, base value purchase, demolition and/or infrastructure purposes. Soils Condition District – used to make land with unstable soils usable for development. Also used to address situations involving pollution. City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 757 Housing District – used to develop affordable housing by acquiring land, buildings and or funding infrastructure. Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund – Provides gap financing through low interest loans to small and medium size businesses for a variety of economic development activities. DEED Loans/Grants – Numerous grant and loan programs are available from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to assist with development and redevelopment projects. The city must serve as the applicant in partnership with a company or developer. Conduit Bonds – City issued revenue bonds on behalf of a private developer. These “conduit” borrowers agree to repay the issuer, who pays principal and interest on the securities from the revenues generated from a specific project or source. Liability for repayment of the bonds is solely that of the developer. Land Sale Write Downs – Land owned by the City, acquired either through purchase or through property tax default, is occasionally sold at less than what an appraisal determines to be its estimated market value. This can be done either because of unique conditions on a site, such as soils, rock, pollution, wetland, or it can be done purely as an incentive. Special Assessment – The levying of a charge for public costs against property that has received a benefit from a particular project or activity. The special assessment becomes a part of the funding mechanism to defray the cost of the project. Commercial Property Leases – Commercial property owned by the City may be leased at less than estimated market value. Business Accelerator Space Write Downs – Below market lease rates available to qualifying companies or program participants in city owned office space. Other options include reimbursement for a portion of quarterly rent payments for program participants in privately owned Prior Lake office space. Tax Abatement – Minnesota law authorizes political subdivisions to grant property tax abatements for a broad range of economic development purposes. Economic development tax abatements should be distinguished from property tax abatements that are granted by the county board primarily to correct errors. Sewer and Water Fee Deferral Program – Deferral of a portion of certain Metropolitan Council sewer availability charge (SAC) fees and certain City of Prior Lake sewer and water fees for eligible commercial and residential properties. 10.17 Unique Challenges for Prior Lake 1. Historical Investments in Commercial/Industrial Development. The city has invested much of its public resources in supporting a healthy and vibrant residential lake community, which has been very successful. Residential property values are well above average as a result, but the total market value of commercial/industrial (C/I) property is below average. For example, Prior Lake’s payable 2019 estimated market City of Prior Lake Economic Competitiveness 2040 Comprehensive Plan Page 758 value for commercial/industrial property is 3.55% of total. This amount is low when compared to commercial/industrial values in neighboring Savage at 12.72% or Shakopee at 24.72% of total. 2. Direct Access to Major Principal Arterial Transportation Systems. Prior Lake’s location outside of the metro’s major highway system results in limited access to Interstate, US and State Highways. Although Prior Lake has convenient access to the major transportation corridors, businesses look elsewhere when highway access a top priority for them. In addition, rail service is absent in Prior Lake. Important improvements have occurred recently on County Highway 21 north and east, resulting in much better access to and from Prior Lake and additional transportation improvements are planned along Hwy 13 and CH21 which will improve access. Prior Lake does have access to a high-speed fiber network which the city has taken advantage of through a cooperative project with Integra. Through this effort, fiber was made available to the city’s various commercial/industrial areas to help compensate for the lack of highway and rail infrastructure. 3. Pad-Ready Commercial/Industrial Sites. Prior Lake has a healthy overall supply of property guided for commercial, business park, and industrial development. However, not all this land is ‘pad-ready’ for development. Prior Lake has approximately 56 acres of vacant commercial property with 36 acres being pad-ready or near pad-ready (64%). The city has approximately 50 acres of vacant business park/industrial property with 25 acres being pad-ready or near pad-ready (50%). This land supply is insufficient to accommodate the increased commercial and industrial development anticipated in the Commercial and Industrial Demand Analysis, completed by Maxfield Research. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which is currently being drafted by city staff, will dedicate additional commercial and industrial land for future development. 4. Direct Business Connection or Link to the Lakes. Prior Lake is known for its fourteen lakes, parks and many recreational opportunities, which are extremely important assets for city residents. However, there is very little connection between these assets and the business community. With one restaurant and few commercial marinas located here, Prior Lake could benefit from additional commercial opportunities related to its lakes and recreation. 10.18 Measuring Success (Metrics) The City will track performance measurements that allow reporting on important aspects of its services, programs and processes. To measure progress toward achieving the objectives identified in this plan, the following metrics will be used: • Track building permits issued for commercial/industrial projects. • Track residential permits and remaining lot inventory. • Track lease inventory of available commercial/industrial building space. • Track change in commercial/industrial market value using County data. • Track the number and acreage of pad-ready commercial/industrial sites.