St. Cloud EDA Approves Buying Back Land In Industrial Park

(KNSI) – St. Cloud plans to close on a deal to buy back a piece of land in the I-94 industrial park after a redevelopment project didn’t get off the ground.

During Tuesday’s meeting, the St. Cloud Economic Development Authority authorized paying $567,500 to Arctic Cat Inc. It’s the same price the city sold the land for eight years ago.

Economic Development Director Cathy Mehelich says they need more land in that area for development. “This is really good news that we’re putting some more land back into our inventory. It is roughly 18 acres in size and could accommodate up to a 200,000 square foot building. Our goal is to sell it for development for tax base and jobs.”

The deal is expected to close next week. Mehelich says they are already getting inquiries about the property. “We do have a lot of interest in the park and in that location in particular. Nothing I can share at this time. It’s all preliminary but some folks that were talking to us before the pandemic have indicated interest in the park again.”

They initially sold the land to Arctic Cat in September 2016, so the company could build a test track facility. In early 2017, Arctic Cat was sold to Textron, and a planned expansion on the site was canceled.

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