Updates
Later, 1:33 pm: a reader in Minneapolis area who did not want full comment published, wrote to say that, "yes," this was a huge deal. Apparently if one can find this on google maps, one will see how huge this facility is. Some thought it would be an international mall.
Original Post
I don't want you to digress, to get off on a tangent, but after you read the story below, DO NOT PASS GO, but click on the link at the very bottom of this post. It's a story you don't want to miss.
The Star-Tribune is reporting:
A major division of Emerson Electric Co. said Monday that it will convert .... into an engineering and manufacturing center, creating about 500 high-skilled jobs over the next five years.
Rosemount Inc. will invest about $70 million to complete and equip [the] abandoned building, which spans 500,000 square feet. It also will develop parking, roads and green space on 60 acres around the facility.
Officials from Rosemount, a unit of the $24 billion Emerson Electric Co. in St. Louis, said the incoming jobs will pay an average of about $65,000.
Workers will manufacture instruments that measure pressure, temperature and flow rates for oil, gas, refining and petrochemical plants.
The project will take five years to complete and will benefit from more than $6 million in state and local subsidies.
The new facility will serve as global headquarters for Emerson’s measurement technologies division and is part of a 10-year growth strategy.But, no, it's not in western North Dakota.
How many times has it been said that oil service support, research, spin-offs, start-ups, etc., need a work force and there is no work force left in western North Dakota. Companies are setting up shop in Fargo, Rapid City, Denver, Jamestown, Billings, and Minneapolis to support the Bakken.
This story has to do with an abandoned telecommunications building near Minneapolis; Shakopee is less than 30 miles from downtown Minneapolis. The story continues:
“The fact that this is a 500,000-square-foot facility means it is a tough space to fill, so this new project is a perfect project for that spot,” said Samantha DiMaggio, Shakopee’s economic development coordinator.
The property received a chance for a second life as a manufacturing hub in October, when Opus Development Corporation’s senior vice president, Dave Menke, confirmed that Opus had bought the property. Soon after, discussions began with the city, state and an economic development partnership.
As a manufacturing hub, the property is expected to deliver an economic boost for Shakopee, which has more than 37,000 residents. Greater MSP, a regional economic development partnership, calculated that the project would mean $200 million in new construction and employee wages, as well as more than $10 million in state income taxes over five years.
Road construction should begin before October.A huge "thank you" to the reader who alerted me to this story and what it means. The reader will get a life-time free subscription to the milliondollarway blog.
Consider the story lines:
- Minnesota is "open for business" -- look at the tax incentives
- Minnesotans are not afraid of truck traffic after all; they are even going to build new roads to accommodate this new enterprise
- half-million square foot building for telecommunications not needed
- no mention of solar or wind turbine research (even though ND is #3 in wind nationwide)
- will take five years to build -- another enterprise that has it figured out: the Bakken is going to be around for a long, long time; CEOs don't spend $70 million and five (5) years developing a project for a boom that will end in 1.5 years (eighteen months)
- the Bakken affecting communities nationwide
- all those folks getting educated in the trenches of the Bakken will find jobs in the heart of Minnesota if they decide to move elsewhere
Memo to self: send a note to The Atlantic Monthly folks.
The beginning of the Snow ball. Here come Frosty The Big White Snow man. The Magic will be Economic recovery. Just a few progressives away from being stopped, good thing they a mired in the mud at this time.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteI don't think I'm exaggerating the importance of this story. This huge endeavor is being built -- NOT in Houston or Baton Rouge -- but near Minneapolis. This is ALL about the Bakken.
Thank you for taking time to write. This story really, really made my day.
An oil and gas research facility that will take five years to build. That speaks volumes. Had they figured this out in upstate New York, all those unemployed engineers up there would have found new jobs.