“They wanted flat land, minimal owners, great energy capacity, water, sewer, (and) close to MSP airport,” said Bruce Sayler, Principal of Community and Economic Development for Connexus. “Everything landed on that same spot.”
The Minnesota Tech Corridor became the name for the project, as Anoka and Washington County leaders joined with city leaders in that region in touting the benefits of locating a distribution or data center there. Centerville City Administrator Mark Statz referred to many of the sites as “shovel-ready.”
“We’ve seen this across the country and even in other parts of the Metro here,” Statz said. “Data centers and other high-tech businesses beget other high-tech businesses, so that’s a goal of ours, too, to be a partner in this.”
Statz cited Centerville’s small-town feel that allows for businesses to open up shop more quickly there than in larger cities.
“Speed to market is important to us here,” he said.
The COVID-19 pandemic and related economic woes didn’t stop the push, but now that things appear to be back more toward normal, the promotion of the area will ramp up even more, Sayler said.
“The land is still there, the fiber is still there, the power’s still there,” he said of the amenities they continue to tout. “The cities are still energized.”
