Letter to the editor: City not planning long term for drive-in site
May 20, 2012 at 4:59 am in South Washington County Bulletin
We realize that the drive-in will be sold for commercial building, but we are perplexed that our city government leaders are not thinking about long-term planning. Continue Reading
It is a foregone conclusion that the drive in site will be developed as a commercial site. People will have differing opinions on what should go there. The thing to remember is that cities don’t get to choose which businesses show interest in coming to our town. While Costco would be great that might not be possible. The best thing we as a community can do is to make sure that we shop LOCALLY so that businesses that we do want have data and proof that we would support the business. We spend so much time driving north to Woodbury that they continue to get first pick at new or different business opportunities. Let’s help our town and help each other by shopping in CG!!!!!
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First, Cottage Grove residents spend a lot of money at Hastings, Woodbury and Inver Grove Wal-Marts. This means the taxes collected benefit those cities as well as Dakota County (Hastings and Inver Grove). So, from a pure tax standpoint, people should want a Wal-Mart in CG.
Second, the East Ravine was master planned a number of years ago – 2004 – with commercial development going on the Cottage View site. The site was supposed to house several big box retailers, a number of boutique type shops and small eateries. Wal-Mart is a big box and they drive traffic to the site, which will be a draw for other retailers to come. The people in Newport, St. Paul Park, Afton, Old Cottage Grove, South St. Paul no longer will need to drive to Woodbury, Inver Grove or Hastings. And, as a CG resident, why would you want to go to those cities? Should Target and Cub pack up and go too since they are in surrounding cities? The Cottage View site has been master planned to be a destination for people from the region – Wal-Mart is only one piece.
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I do shop in Cottage Grove for everything except what I cannot find there. That list is pretty big. I cannot buy quilting fabric, I cannot buy yarn, I do not have a large selection of books or computer equipment; no camping equipment either.
We have a lot of needs in Cottage Grove that we have to go outside to satisfy, and gee while we are there let’s stop here and here and here instead of driving home to Cottage Grove and maybe our Target or Kohl’s will carry that item, but most likely not.
Cottage Grove has a auto shops, liquor stores, grocery stores, and garden shops but not a whole lot of fun fun stuff. So yeah joy we will get a walmart, okay whatever. I don’t shop there now, maybe I will in the future.
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My only problem with all of this is why can’t these retailers build multi level rather than sucking up every piece of land with strip malls and parking lots? Where will it end?
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If you want a Costco, you need to send them emails. Everybody needs to send them emails. They have a website with contact information. Send them emails, send them emails, send them emails! I’ve already sent them one, you can too. These businesses have no idea that there is public interest unless you let them know. Here is the letter I sent to them (this works for other businesses, too, just replace a few things – I’ve sent similar letters to Trader Joes, Aldi, Red Robin, Buffalo Wild Wings, & Chipotle, Baja Sol & White Castle):
Hello, my name is from Cottage Grove, MN and I wanted to drop a note to let you know that there is great interest in having a Costco in our town. Your closest store is Maplewood, MN and I think Cottage Grove would be a wonderful fit for your brand. It would be a brilliant strategic business location for your store. First, there are several other well-populated suburbs around Cottage Grove (St Paul Park, Newport, Hastings, Woodbury, Afton, and Prescott), the combined population of the immediate surrounding area is approximately 129,000 (according to the 2009 census data and this number doesn’t include a few of the outlying suburbs). A Costco in Cottage Grove would be in a perfect position to serve and profit from a fairly large and diverse customer base. Second, Cottage Grove is a growing suburb with increased interest in commercial and industrial development and growth. The city is aggressively pushing a “Shop Cottage Grove” campaign and vigorously promotes businesses in our local area. Third, whenever Costco has been mentioned, everybody has said they’d love to see your store in our town. I would greatly appreciate it if you could pass this message on to somebody who deals with future location planning; I have appended this message with the City of Cottage Grove’s contact information. Thank you for your time and have a wonderful day.
City of Cottage Grove contact info: Email: info@cottage-grove.org Phone: (651) 458-2800
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