With potential annexation of 120 acres of land along Interstate 35 near Elko New Market still pending, speculation is growing that online retailer Amazon.com might be interested in a business park proposed for the Scott County parcel.

The City Council in Elko New Market likely will consider the annexation when it meets Thursday, City Administrator Thomas Terry said.

The council, which had been set to consider the matter Oct. 9, agreed to take it up this week instead after staff members requested more time for information on the annexation and an environmental study of the property, southeast of I-35 and County Road 2.

The council this week also likely will receive a financial analysis of the cost to extend utilities to the property, which is not contiguous to Elko New Market and is part of New Market Township.

Meanwhile, speculation among brokers is that Amazon.com could be a tenant of the business park that Ryan Companies is interested in developing on the 120-acre site, said Chris Garcia, owner of CGC Commercial, an industrial real estate brokerage in St. Louis Park.

"As far as Amazon goes, it could make a lot of sense for them or another corporation to 'build to suit' there," Garcia said.

Garcia said the I-35 corridor in that area has the potential to see rapid growth, as have Otsego and Rogers in the northwest metro area and Shakopee in the southwest.

"You can get some cheap land, it's not too far out of the loop and you can do some aggressive build-to-suit for some big boxes," Garcia said, referring to large-scale retail stores.

Casey Hankinson, vice president of development at Ryan, declined to comment on the Amazon speculation. The site could handle 1.5 million square feet of development or more, he said.

"We like its great access to 35 and the visibility that it has," Hankinson said of the land. "We also like that it's in Scott County. We've had a great relationship with them, and Elko New Market has been great to work with."

Terry declined to comment on potential projects for the Ryan project.

Amazon itself fueled speculation about a Minnesota expansion when Amazon Web Services and Amazon Digital Services, based in Amazon's hometown of Seattle, registered with the state to get tax ID and begin collecting sales tax in the state Oct. 1, the Star Tribune has reported.

The registrations suggest that Amazon could open a data center or tech office in the state and not necessarily a fulfillment or distribution center.

Elko New Market officials and the Scott County Association for Leadership and Efficiency (SCALE), which represents entities from across the county, both identified the interchange at I-35 and County Road 2 as having high growth potential.

The city and the county are working on a plan to share with Ryan the cost of an environmental study of the proposed development.

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Woodbury. His e-mail address is todd_nelson@mac.com.