When will the first building in Elk Run's biobusiness park in Pine Island be completed?
According to the latest building permit, developer Tower Investments can wait as late as Feb. 15 to start construction. That's because Pine Island's city council agreed to extend Tower's contract another six months from the original deadline of Aug. 15.
Abraham Algadi, city administrator, said the main reason the city decided to the extend the contract was because "there is a solid partnership" between Pine Island, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Tower and Burrill & Co., a San Francisco-based firm that is raising $1 billion in venture capital to support the development and businesses at Elk Run.
"We're not going to jeopardize that partnership over a permit issue," Algadi said.
The Elk Run development, which aims to turn a rural elk farm into a vibrant commercial center for biotech jobs, has been riddled with delays. Developers pitched their vision four years ago and today, construction on the first building hasn't begun.
Geoff Griffin, Elk Run's project manager did not immediately return a call for comment. Algadi said Tower is working on finalizing tenants for the first building.
The building permit extension does create challenges for other agencies involved in the Elk Run project.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation hasn't started construction on four frontage roads that would connect Elk Run with a new Hwy. 52 interchange because the department wants to see some venture capital fundraising from Tower and Burrill. The frontage roads are part of a larger $34.6 million interchange project that is tied to the City of Pine Island creating bioscience jobs at Elk Run.
"There's no question the lack of process of the first building has been frustrating," said Terry Ward, manager of MnDOT's Elk Run Interchange Project.
The department has an agreement with a firm to build those frontage roads as part of a larger contract. The department will need to make a decision on whether or not they will authorize those frontage roads by the end of the year under the existing contract, Ward said. If no authorization is made by then, it could result in delay fees paid to the firm or a renegotiation of the contract, Ward added.
