Lakeville industrial park adds to development momentum

Industrial development in the south metro would gain further momentum with the addition of a 175-acre industrial park a developer has proposed in Lakeville.

Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties recently submitted a draft environmental assessment work sheet for the city to review, said David Olson, Lakeville's community and economic development director.

An environmental approval is required because of the size of the project, which would go southwest of Dodd Boulevard and County Road 70, just east of Interstate 35. One family owns the land and has farmed it.

The proposed Interstate South Logistics Park would accommodate projects totaling 2.2 million to 3 million square feet of space, Olson said.

The developer has been actively marketing the site for a little while, Olson said. He said he couldn't comment on whether the developer has lined up a tenant or tenants for the park.

"It's mainly a distribution center, warehouse-type development," Olson said. "One option has nine smaller buildings, and the other option has two very large distribution projects."

The interest in distribution projects in part reflects the changing nature of retail, Olson said. "A lot of it's online purchases," he said. "Cyber Monday we just went through. Even the existing brick-and-mortar stores are getting more into e-commerce, the Targets, the Wal-Marts."

"I would think they'd want to start doing grading and utilities work next summer," Olson said. "It's a phased development, so it won't be done all at once."

Proximity to the I-35 corridor, the availability of larger sites and the south-metro location itself are driving developer interest in Lakeville.

"We have kind of a critical mass here of existing businesses, as well," Olson said of Lakeville. "That doesn't always factor in, but we have a large industrial park already, so they're not coming into the middle of nowhere. It's pretty well-established here."

Adjacent to the Interstate South Logistics Park, FedEx Ground is planning a 93,000-square-foot project. Also in Lakeville, Menasha Packaging is planning to add 126,000 square feet while BTD Manufacturing is looking to add 200,000 square feet of space to its building.

More of the same is likely to be on the way, Olson said, based on what industrial developers said at a meeting organized by the Minnesota Real Estate Journal.