4A - Economic Development (part 2)

Home Browse Search

1 LONG-TERM ACTIONS (S YEARS AND BEYOND): 2 ❑ Develop flexible design guidelines for businesses to emphasize the aesthetics and unique character of 3 Pequot Lakes. 4 ❑ Partner with the school system in order to better educate students on the entrepreneurial spirit in rural 5 economies. 6 PREVIOUSLY COMPLETED ACTIONS 7 ❑ Provide opportunities for local businesses to leverage capital through the use of public funds such as 8 through tax increment financing (TIF), revolving loans, or the installation of community development 9 corporations. 10 ❑ Require extractive use companies to restore the natural and scenic conditions of the land back to its 11 original form prior to extraction. 12 ❑ Provide incentives for infill and redevelopment of local businesses in the downtown area. 13 14 Economic Impacts of the Paul Bunyan State Trail 15 Among the many reasons for building the Paul Bunyan State Trail, including the preservation of the environment, 16 promoting physical exercise and a venue for safe,family activity, are economic benefits that increased visitation to 17 Pequot Lakes brings.Benefits related to business activity are seen in two ways: 18 Through direct increase in business activity from direct purchases by trail users;and, 19 Indirectly by providing services and products to an increasing number of businesses that have sprung up to sustain 20 the operations of the trail and demands of its users. 21 "Overall,trail users average about 48 years of age,are more likely to be male, have completed college,with annual 22 household incomes between$35,000 and $75,000. In Minnesota,trail users have median incomes$10,000 higher 1 23 than average;good news for the communities along the trail." Since the trail travels directly through the center of 24 downtown Pequot Lakes, users have the opportunity to hop off and enjoy a meal or a walk past the specialty 25 stores.Since the trail directly impacts local businesses,cold months reduce the number of visitors to Pequot Lakes 26 via the Paul Bunyan Trail. 27 In general,trails also act to enhance property values of abutting parcels: 28 A 1998 study of property values along the Mountain Bay Trail in Brown County,Wisconsin shows that lots adjacent 1 29 to the trail sold faster and for an average of nine percent more than similar property not located next to the trail. 30 • Realizing the selling power of greenways, developers of the Shepherd's Vineyard housing development in Apex, 31 North Carolina added$5,000 to the price of 40 homes adjacent to the regional greenway.Those homes were still 2 32 the first to sell. 3 33 In Minnesota,87%of home owners believe trails either increased property value or had no impact. 34 161 Page