The Status of St. Cloud

Expansion Plan

Perhaps nothing better illustrates the allure of St. Cloud than the decision in 2006 by ING Direct, a national online bank, to expand its presence in the downtown area. The company, part of the Dutch-based global banking firm ING, announced it would add 400 employees and move into expanded office space in downtown’s Centre Square III complex in fall 2006. Observers say a combination of tax incentives, the productivity of Minnesota workers, and a persuasive business community helped St. Cloud win out over other potential expansion locations in Delaware, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

“ING Direct has been a real force for growth in St. Cloud during a time of economic uncertainty over the past three or four years,” says Rich MacDonald, director of the Center for Economic Education at St. Cloud State University (SCSU).

St. Cloud and surrounding suburbs also continue to draw the attention of national retailers, says Stefanie Meyer, vice president of retail leasing for United Properties in Bloomington. “Sales are strong for many retailers in St. Cloud, and since retailers around the country talk to each other, those that don’t yet have a presence in St. Cloud usually want to investigate it right after the Twin Cities.”

Retail tends to follow “rooftops” (homes) and population growth, an area where St. Cloud has been no slouch. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city ranked seventh in the state in number of new residents added between 2000 and 2005, lagging only behind fast-growing Twin Cities’ suburbs such as Maple Grove, Blaine, and Lakeville, in addition to the city of Rochester.

Nancy Doran, a realtor formerly with INH Commercial Brokerage, (now a broker with Meyer Commercial) a St. Cloud–based commercial real estate company, says she’s recently had three Twin Cities–based businesses inquire about leasing space in the area. One is a fitness center on the hunt for 10,000 square feet of space, another is a dollar store retailer, and a third is interested in opening a call center near St. Cloud, the latter drawn by the labor pool available through area universities, Doran says. Others have been attracted by the affordable rents.

Commercial construction activity in the area remained strong last year, according to the October 2006 St. Cloud Area Quarterly Business Report, a survey of area businesses co-authored by SCSU’s MacDonald. “Both in quantitative and qualitative responses to the survey, commercial construction firms reported staying very busy, and commercial real estate firms and lenders also said the sector was strong,” MacDonald says.