BlaineBiz.com
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Sp r in g 20 21
What’s Inside
2020 Year in Review................................................3
CARES Act Helps Blaine Businesses and Alternative COVID Relief Assistance In 2020, the City of Blaine received $5 million through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The City Council took quick action to utilize approximately $1 million of this money to provide grants to over 60 Blaine businesses and non-profits affected by the pandemic. These grants were awarded in the fall of 2020 and small business recipients ranged in industry from restaurants and retailers to service providers such as health care providers, hair salons, mechanics, and fitness centers.
Open to Business Free Technical Assistance...................................4
So far in 2021, CARES Act Funding has been distributed down to the county level. Both Anoka and Ramsey Counties provided application periods for additional COVID relief grants. Another form of assistance, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a Small Business Administration (SBA) program created to help businesses keep their workforce employed. Companies that were able to maintain employee compensation levels through the 8-24 week period of assistance were able to apply for PPP loan forgiveness. For companies that missed this round of CARES Act Funding, assistance is still available through the SBA. The SBA has a number of programs for assistance including Economic Injury Disaster Loans, the SBA Express Bridge Loan, microloans, and debt relief assistance. The SBA is currently in the process of setting up the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant for live venue operators or promoters, theatrical producers, live performing arts organization operators, relevant museum operators, zoos, and aquariums who meet specific criteria, motion picture theatre operators and talent representatives. These companies must have been in operation as of February 29, 2020 and must not have applied for or received a PPP loan on or after December 27, 2020.
Small Business Week............................................4
Highway 65 Update
POSTMASTER: TIME SENSITIVE MAIL
DATED MATERIAL PREPARED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION
ECRWSS
POSTAL CUSTOMER
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage PAID TWIN CITIES, MN Permit No. 32324 City of Blaine 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449
Additional relief funds will be available through the American Rescue Plan passed by Congress in March 2021. The City of Blaine will share more information in the coming months on new assistance programs that will be offered. For more information on SBA programs visit, SBA.gov.
The Highway 65 corridor has 10 of the 31 high priority intersections identified in the 2017 Met Council and MnDOT Principal Arterial Intersection Conversion Study. This study along with the recently completed TH 65 Planning and Environmental Linkages Study (TH65 PEL) make it clear that the congestion and safety issues on Highway 65 need to be addressed in the very near future. With the completion of TH65 PEL the project is ready to move on to the next stage. The City of Blaine, in partnership with the Anoka County Highway Department, is receiving proposals to complete the environmental review process which will determine the selected alternative layout. Additional outreach will be a component of that process over the next six to nine months. Once completed, the consultant will create a preliminary design of all the intersection improvements from 99th Avenue to 117th Avenue. The City intersection at 99th Avenue and the County intersection at 109th Avenue along with a west side frontage road will be brought to a final design stage. The City of Blaine has secured over $13 Million in grant funding toward these projects and is working with state and federal legislators on additional grants to fund the entire construction. Frontage road improvement work may begin as early as the fall of 2022 and work on the intersection of 99th Avenue may begin in 2024. For more information about the Highway 65 project, visit BlaineMN.gov/TH65.
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Community Development 10801 Town Square Drive NE Blaine MN 55449 763-784-6700 Erik Thorvig Community Development Director 763-785-6147 EThorvig@BlaineMN.gov Lori Johnson City Planner 763-785-6198 LJohnson@BlaineMN.gov Ruth Tucker Economic Development Specialist 763-717-2778 RTucker@BlaineMN.gov Michelle Wolfe City Manager 763-785-6120 MWolfe@BlaineMN.gov
New Neighborhood Meeting Policy to Provide More Information for Residents In 2020, the City Council established a neighborhood meeting policy to provide better communication for residents about proposed development projects in their neighborhoods. This policy requires developers to hold neighborhood meetings in addition to, and prior to, any public hearings on a proposed project. This policy does not apply to every new development project but it applies to those projects where a rezoning or land use change is being proposed adjacent to an established residential neighborhood. This policy allows residents to more fully understand a development’s impact on their lives and gives the residents more than one opportunity to voice concerns regarding development projects. The full details of this policy can be found at BlaineMN.gov/NeighborhoodMeetingPolicy.
Stay Connected Receive Emergency Communications BlaineMN.gov/CivicReady
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Social Media Facebook.com/ BlaineBizMN Twitter.com/ BlaineBizMN YouTube.com/ CityofBlaine
New Developments Want the latest on new developments around the city? Visit BlaineMN.gov/NewDevelopment to learn more about upcoming and ongoing projects. To learn more about these developments, please view the City of Blaine’s interactive development map at BlaineMN.gov/DevelopmentActivity. For information on all proposed development projects each month, view the Blaine Planning Commission and Blaine City Council agendas at BlaineMN.gov/Agendas.
City of Blaine Welcomes a New Economic Development Specialist to the Community Development Department In early January, the City of Blaine welcomed a new economic development specialist. Ruth Tucker comes to the City of Blaine from the Missouri Department of Economic Development where she worked as a senior economic buyingdevelopment property specialist.
Is role with the city will focus on the business community the rightRuth’s move and business for your business? retention, expansion, and attraction efforts.
She will be meeting with business owners around Blaine community, identify key assets that make Blaine a great place to do business, and work Our free, confidential advisors can assist you in with companies to access resources to help their company evaluating a purchase price, comparing ownership succeed. Additionally, Ruth will be looking to identify resource vs. leasing costs, and connecting you to financing resources. Open to Business can also gaps within the Cityoften andprovide create programming and content to gap financingaddress to keep equity requirements man- unmet needs. some of businesses’
Open totoBusiness can help! learn more about the Is buying property the right move for yourForbusiness? more information:
ageable. Whether you are negotiating a purchase,
www.opentobusinessmn.org Any Blaine business interested in meeting with Ruth is Open to Business can help! BizConnect is office published OR call the Anoka County at 763-438-7315 twice refinancing a contract for deed, or just exploring to call 763-717-2778 to set up an appointment. In Our free, confidential you inand your options,encouraged Open to Business can help. annually by more theadvisors City can of assist Blaine information: evaluating For a purchase price, comparing ownership person and virtual meeting options are available in compliance distributed to all residents and OpentoBusinessMN.org vs. leasing costs, and connecting you to financing with COVID-19 social distancing and masking guidelines. OR call the Anoka County office businesses. copies areoften available resources. OpenPast to Business can also provide at 763-438-7315 financing to keep equity requirements manFor more information about the City of Blaine’s Economic Development efforts, visit BlaineBiz.com. atgap BlaineMN.gov/Newsletter. ageable. Whether you are negotiating a purchase, refinancing a contract for deed, or just exploring your options, Open to Business can help.
Spring 2021
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Year in Review Blaine Business Council
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New Residential Developments
New Commercial/ Industrial Developments
Blaine Orthodontics Club West Chiropractic STEM Builders of Blaine
Grand Openings Ground Breakings
Do you want to connect with other Blaine businesses and hear about updates in the community? The Blaine Business Council is open to all Blaine businesses and is held quarterly via Zoom. The meetings start at 7:30AM, no RSVP is necessary and we hope you can attend. 2021 Blaine Business Council Dates April 22 | July 8 | October 28 For more information including the Zoom information, visit the Metro North Chamber of Commerce at MetroNorthChamber.org
1st
Quarter
Bell Bank Cedar Creek Energy Mary Ann Young Center Midwest Diesel (3041 - 82nd Lane)
2nd
Quarter
Dollar Tree Associated Skin Care Specialists Cub Wine & Spirits
MOH’s Performance Motosport Planet Fitness (The Village of Blaine)
Premier Machinery Auctions LLC Vita-Pros
Business Visits
(The Village of Blaine)
Renovation Church (12390 Frazier Street)
Crunch Fitness (Aberdeen Street)
Optimize Physical Therapy Planet Fitness
Dominos Pizza
(University Avenue)
Five Below Murphy Bros Design Build Remodel (1613 93rd Lane)
On Time Bike Shop Red’s Savoy Pizza
(Baltimore Street)
Salvation Army Stores Spire Credit Union (10 Northtown Drive)
4th
Quarter
Imagine Smiles MAS HVAC
Kindercare Murphy Bros. Design, Build, Remodel Reverie Boutique & Co. Salons by JC Song Tea and Poke 109 Oriental Market European Waxing Center MN Medical Solutions North Central Plaza (11820 Ulysses Street)
Pet Suites
(9983 Ulysses Street)
Shawna Kolles State Farm Spire Credit Union
Twin Stick Off Road Arko Companies Island Deliveries Kingdom Bakery (10130 Sunset Avenue)
The Goddard School McHale Veterinary Hospital (12535 Ulysses Street)
Styled Stems Taste of Saigon UptoDate Bookkeeping Vertex Nail Salon
3rd
Quarter
The vitality of a local economy depends upon a healthy, growing business community. In recognition of this fact, the City of Blaine offers a business visit program. The primary purpose of the program is to establish a connection between city government and private businesses and industries in the community. By visiting with and gathering information from companies through this program, the City can become aware of expansion needs and anticipated business growth, address any needs or concerns you 3 may have, and offer city assistance and support where possible. Business visits are scheduled at a time that is convenient for the business owner. Visits are meant to be both productive and helpful to the growth and longevity of businesses here in Blaine. Generally, one or two members of city staff attend. Members of the Blaine City Council also are invited to attend. If you would like to participate, please contact Ruth Tucker at rtucker@blainemn.gov or by phone at 763-717-2778. You may also request a business visit online at BlaineMN.gov/RequestaVisit.
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BlaineBiz.com - BizConnect
Register Your Business
Open to Business Free Technical Assistance for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Looking for a trusted adviser for your business? Maybe you have wanted to secure financing to start or expand your business? If so, a program offered by Anoka and Ramsey Counties may be just what you are looking for. Thanks to a partnership between Anoka County and the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD), business owners or those looking to start a new business can access a new program called Open to Business. Open to Business will provide prospective and existing entrepreneurs with free one-on-one counseling with a business adviser. The program provides assistance in the following areas: • • • •
Financial management Loan packaging Business plan assistance Real estate analysis
• • • •
Marketing assistance Strategic planning Business regulations Professional referrals
The City of Blaine uses the CivicReady emergency notification to push urgent messages out to the community. In light of recent events, the City is adding a business specific listing in CivicReady. Business will now be able to sign up to receive emergency notifications that are for the business community. Register your business online at BlaineMN.gov/RegisterBusiness. Registered businesses will automatically be added to the CivicReady Emergency Business Notification System. For more information about CivicReady, visit BlaineMN.gov/CivicReady.
Open to Business advisers can also assist entrepreneurs to identify borrowing needs and accessing financing options. Advisers work with clients to help them find the financing that best meets their own unique needs. MCCD also provides direct financing and loans in partnership with banks and nonprofit lenders. Funds can be used for inventory, working capital, asset and equipment purchases, real estate acquisition, and start-up costs.
Anoka County
Carrie Mikkonen 763-438-7315 cmikkonen@mccdmn.org
Ramsey County
Kathleen DuChene 763-738-7315 Kduchene@mccdmn.org
Small Business Week May 2 - 8, 2021 Small businesses are the life-blood of our community. In fact, in 2018 small businesses made up 99.8 percent of all businesses in Anoka County with over 55 percent of businesses having fewer than five employees. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business and they create nearly two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. Small business plays such a crucial role in our economy. That is why for over 50 years the U.S. has celebrated National Small Business Week to recognize the important role small businesses play in our economy. This year, National Small Business Week takes place May 2-8, 2021. This year, the City of Blaine will also be celebrating National Small Business Week to highlight and thank our local small business community. Throughout the week the City will be highlighting various small businesses around the city, encouraging residents to visit Blaine’s small businesses and share their experience, and providing free workshops for small businesses. The City invites all small businesses and residents to participate in this year’s celebrations. To learn more about how you can support Blaine’s small businesses and for more information on Blaine’s National Small Business Week events, please visit BlaineMN.gov/SmallBusinessWeek.
BizConnect Online BlaineMN.gov/NotifyMe
Blaine BizConnect online is a monthly newsletter delivered right to your inbox that will keep you up to date on development happenings in the City of Blaine. From commercial to industrial to residential, Blaine is one of the fastest growing cities in Minnesota and always has new and exciting projects on the horizon. Sign up online at BlaineBiz.com/NotifyMe, choose BlaineBiz Update.