WILLMAR—The streetscape project being proposed for the intersection of Litchfield Avenue and Fourth Street Southwest in downtown Willmar has hit a rather large snag. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which administers the Small Cities grant program from which most of the funding is coming, has raised serious concerns about the plan and whether it will fund a major aspect of the project.
The city was awarded a $750,000 grant from the program, with $400,000 earmarked
WILLMAR—Fifteen years after it was first established, the MinnWest Technology Campus continues to be transformed into one of Kandiyohi County’s economic development stars. Currently, it is home to 27 different companies offering employment to 693 people, with an average salary of $55,000 a year.
“It is a real gem for this community,” said James Sieben, president of both the campus and Nova-Tech Engineering, one of the largest employers on the campus located in Willmar.
However,
WILLMAR—The walls are going up at the construction site of the Willmar Recreation and Event Center, adjacent to the Willmar Civic Center. The precast walls started being installed this week with the help of a very large crane.
“By the end of next week, the walls will be completed,” said Rob Baumgarn, Willmar Parks and Recreation director.
The steel for the roof is expected to arrive in January. And once the exterior of the building is up and made weather-tight, the work on the inside
HUTCHINSON—More than two decades of helping entrepreneurs get started in southwest Minnesota has taught Scott Marquardt many lessons, but perhaps none so important as these.
This place grows them, and they like it here.
How else to explain the Douglass brothers, Carl, Brian and Sean, and their commitment to Douglass Innovations in northern Kandiyohi County? They turn dreams into finished products on a 24-hour cycle taking advantage of advanced 3D printer technology.
“They could do this anywhere,”
WILLMAR—A large logistics facility to be constructed in the Willmar Industrial Park is still a go, though changes have been made to the land purchase agreement between the city and Ruedebusch Development & Construction National, the project developer.
The Willmar City Council, at its meeting Monday, made amendments to the purchase agreement and major subdivision plat. The council also approved the development agreement with RDC National, which lays out the responsibilities of each party.
RDC
WILLMAR—The vehicles that drive along Willmar’s streets will soon have a spa for their very own.
The Willmar City Council at the Sept. 20 meeting approved the minor subdivision of what is known as the Patterson Parcel, the site of the closed Kandi Entertainment Center at the intersection of 19th Avenue and Fifth Street Southeast. The parcel is being split in two.
To be constructed on the parcel nearest to 19th Avenue will be Tidal Wave Auto Spa, a national chain of express conveyor
WILLMAR—The pieces are starting to come together for the large logistics facility to be constructed on the west end of Willmar, in the Willmar Industrial Park.
The Willmar Planning Commission at Wednesday’s meeting recommended the approval of the project’s plan, and also approved the vacation of several easements in the property the developer is purchasing from the city.
“Packaging coming in, being sorted and going out” is what this logistics project will be about, said
WILLMAR—Sandwich lovers will soon have a new place to get their favorite Subway subs. Construction has begun on the new Willmar restaurant, located at the intersection of First Street South and Minnesota Avenue Southeast, across from Domino’s Pizza.
The building will be 2,200 square feet and will include a drive-thru on the east side of the structure. There will also be plenty of parking, with the city-required maximum of 37 spaces.
According to the building permit issued in July by
WILLMAR—The 24/7/365 small package sorting and distribution facility proposed to be built on 32 acres in the Willmar Industrial Park is looking more and more certain as the Willmar City Council began the land sale process and approved the purchase agreement at its Monday meeting.
“This really represents the kickoff of the actions you will see over the next 45 days,” said Aaron Backman, executive director of the Kandiyohi County and City of Willmar Economic Development Commission.
The
WILLMAR—The possible construction of a massive development project in the Willmar Industrial Park moved closer to fruition on Wednesday, with the Willmar Planning Commission recommending the city sell more than 30 acres of land to RDC National Inc.
RDC National is working on behalf of an end user—not yet identified publicly—to construct an over $25 million logistics facility in the Industrial Park’s Fourth Addition, located between Willmar Avenue and Trott Avenue Southwest on the
