GreenStep City Best Practices: Resilient Economic and Community Development
Business Synergies and EcoDistricts No. 28
Network/cluster businesses and design neighborhoods and developments to achieve better energy, social, economic and environmental outcomes in service of a more circular and equitable economy.
Require, build or facilitate at least four sustainability attributes in a business/industrial park project:
a. Shared parking/access, electric vehicle charging for 3% of parking and/or synchronized with solar generation. b. Green product development, manufacturing or sales OR a green job training program. c. Buildings located within walking distance of transit and/or residential zoning. d. Renovated buildings, buildings designed for reuse, shared recreation/childcare facilities. e. Green buildings built to Minnesota's SB2030 energy standard OR renewable energy generated on-site. f. Combined heat and power (CHP) generation capacity, shared geothermal heating/cooling, microgrid OR energy storage. g. Low-impact site development.
The Towerside Innovation District is a collaboration of public and private partners working to transform an overlooked, asset-rich district at the heart of the Twin Cities into an equitable and restorative demonstration of 21st century urban redevelopment.
The City of Fridley’s Northern Stacks project was a superfund site redeveloped into a business campus.
The Minnesota Main Streets program (BPA 5.2) can help communities create new jobs through investments to their downtowns. For example, Red Wing documented 79 new jobs created since joining the program in 2010.
Faribault initiated a Sustainable Industries Cohort in 2019 that brought together up to 50 local business leaders to regular meetings that helped inform the city's Comprehensive Plan update and aided in peer sharing and learning opportunities about sustainable best best practices.
Empower you environmental/sustainability committees to be more effective at making your city more sustainable, resilient, and equitable by advocating for an environmental focus throughout the community’s development review process by using the Addressing the Sustainability Gap in the Development Review Process (GSC and Michael Orange, 2021). The guide has 8 main sections: climate change future - a call to action; the third “E” in Sustainability - equity, and climate refugees; environmental advocacy and the development review process; Minnesota programs for local governments; municipal development code; 2 case studies; and resources.
The Pope/Douglas Soild Waste Magement Material Recovery Center 2024 project expanded a reuse room and fix-it/refurbishment space, supports Precious Plastics plastic reuse and includes a hands-on learning lab and community space.
Shared Energy Systems
In Rochester, linking buildings to pipes with circulating water, called a Thermal Energy Network, can help share the thermal energy available and reduce the impact of building electrification on the electric grid.
The Envision rating system from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure provides a holistic framework for evaluating and rating the community, environmental, and economic benefits of all types and sizes of infrastructure projects.
Report on the attributes in a business park or industrial park project and what role the city played in their achievement. Report mixed-use projects under BPA28.4 or under BP 8, and shared aspects of retail projects at transit/density nodes under BPA 14.2.
Specify which elements were/are required by the city.
Rate the project using the Envision sustainability rating system or equivalent.
Who's doing it
Silver Bay - 2 star
Date action report first entered:
Date of last report update:
Year action initially completed: 2012
Implementation details:
Silver Bay is using cluster development in its eco-park that will benefit facilities and businesses both economically and environmentally. By grouping like businesses together, they will be able to share a parking lot, and surface area will be minimized. Also, food that is produced at Victus Farm may be used by neighboring restaurants.
Silver Bay has planned to construct a WARF Greenhouse Bio-fuel Energy Facility as a part of their developing eco-park.This project integrates the production of algae for bio-diesel along with agriculture and aquaculture. The bio-diesel generated from algae will be used by local industries and be another renewable energy source for not only the Greenhouse, but the entire park.
The Northstar Business Park features shared parking and driveway access, a location within walking distance to Northstar Rail, and is within walking distance of Elk River Station and Trout Brook Crossing. In addition, the old public library was turned into a senior activity center. The city facilitated the building of Metal Crafts new energy efficient work facility and the environmental learning center by ERMU. The city offers additional financing incentives for green manufacturing or for projects that utilize energy efficient design or materials.
Because the City is 1 mile by 1 mile, everything is within walking distance.
The City has renovated several buildings including the Insula Restaurant; buildings adjacent to the old movie theater were renovated to create a bigger theater; drug store is undergoing renovation to become a mixed use building with bakery, retail, and office space. All buildings were brought up to MN code including new water heaters, furnaces, and other energy efficiency measures.
Outcome measures/metrics/money saved:
Descriptive File:
Descriptive links:
For more information contact:
Scott Kochendorfer (City Staff) | pzadmin@ely.mn.us | 218-226-3224 Ext 3
While Golden Valley does not define business or industrial parks, there are a few areas in the City that are loosely considered business parks by staff due to their attributes. The Sandburg Road/Medicine Lake Road area, the Downtown West area (between Highway 169 and Wisconsin Avenue North), and the area east of Douglas Drive between Golden Valley Road and Highway 55 are all largely composed of commercial, light industrial, and/or industrial zoning districts and are centers for office buildings and industrial uses. There is transit service through the Downtown West area as well as along Highway 55 and Interstate 394. All three areas are within 0.5 miles of single-family zoning.
One business resident, who renovated an existing building in the Downtown West area before moving into it in the summer of 2017, was granted a reduction in the minimum parking required by the City in exchange for evidence of adjacent properties that it can share parking with. The City also facilitated shared parking for the Central Park West property on the southwest corner of the Highway 100 and Interstate 394 interchange (an area which is zoned for business and professional offices).
Renovation of the local grocery store to
include energy efficient lighting, insulation
and building restructuring. This grocery store inlcudes a restaurant, bakery, laundromat, and event room. All of these have been furnished with energy saving equipment.
A. Within Stillwater there are a number of shared parking and shared access facilities. Dairy Queen, for example, is a stand alone building that is situated within the Valley Ridge Mall parking lot. Also Target and Cubs are two really big stores that have a shared parking area.
B. VistaTek is a manufacturing company in Stillwater that has taken on a whole slew of green initiatives. VistaTek works closely with customers and suppliers to utilize recycled materials when it is available. They use re-ground material that they collect on-site, or use resin that is compounded from recycled plastics. A perfect example are these razor handles that are molded from plastic derived from recycled yogurt cups.
C. West Stillwater Business Park District allows for future mixed use development and is currently used for commercial use and is adjacent to residential neighborhoods, allowing safe and easy pedestrian travel between the two.
D.The Lora Hotel was constructed from a building designed for reuse. The original building was a late 19th century brewery, with great historical significance for Stillwater and Minnesota. The building was recently transformed into a 40-room hotel, while maintaining the original structure and overall design.
G. The post office in Stillwater is a great example of low-impact site development. To minimize to run off tho adjacent properties the post office installed a permeable parking lot during its development.
