Posted: 4/3/02

Progress is solid, but needs exist

There is no question this area is a good place to do business. One look at todayís Progress Edition shows proof of the vitality of the area business community.

There are reasons the area is strong. When you consider nearly 40,000 people live within the Forest Lake Area School District, there is substantial buying power generated by the school district population.

With Forest Lake the hub community for the school district, it remains the magnet for the parents who come here for a wide variety of school functions. Many shop here while they are in town at school events.

But it is not just the school population base that makes this area successful.

When you consider the growing populations in areas like North Branch and Chisago Lakes, there is another strong base of potential consumer dollars. Many are shopping in Forest Lake and Wyoming and taking advantage of business developments in this area.

Add in the thousands of travelers who daily pass through the area on I-35 and you have even more potential for a growing business community.

These are some of the reasons big boxes like Wal-Mart, Menards, Cub Foods and Target have pinpointed Forest Lake as a business location. They recognize the drawing power of this area.

The same holds for other new national franchise businesses such as Applebeeís Neighborhood Grill and Bar and White Castle, two newcomers to the Forest Lake market during the past year.

But the success also takes the guts and faith of local people.

When you look at the locals who are taking the business plunge, there are many examples.

You have to admire the moves of Gordy Skamser and his partners who have opened Norman Quackís Chophouse in Forest Lake. The Marine man is building on a lifetime of restaurant experience and a theme developed from Skamserís youth in northwestern Wisconsin.

Norman Quackís is doing well and turning out good food. It has survived the early bumps and the negative comments of a Twin Cities daily newspaper review that said little good about the business, slammed its staff and was, in the bottom line, an insult to the Forest Lake area.

You also have to admire the plans by Forest Lake residents Wendy and Scott Chelberg who will open the Peppermint Parlor & Eatery in The Plaza when the two-story office complex is completed in the downtown later this year.

Relative newcomers to the Forest Lake community, the Chelbergs are exploring this business opportunity with optimism and faith in a unified Forest Lake. They see this area as a good place to live and do business and are expressing that faith with a business venture they believe the area needs and will support.

These are little examples.

There are also huge efforts taking place that require not only faith and optimism, but big bucks.

Several plans are taking shape for the downtown with The Plaza just one business development that will help reshape the downtown. It is reshaping that is needed if the area is to continue to be vibrant.

There are more big moves coming on the rapidly developing W. Broadway Ave. business district. Although the plans are yet to be announced, watch for big changes to come with more nationally known retailers and food franchises likely to open during 2002. Buildings that now stand on Broadway will vanish.

But the Forest Lake area is not a place without some holes, potholes if you will.

There is a fragile line between success and failure in business and this area is not immune to the downside of business.

Each year we see businesses come and go. It is part of life in the business world.

While one big box like Target adjusts to its new location here, another, Kmart, is pulling stakes and closing the Forest Lake store this spring.

Questions remain for the Kmart space, but rumors fly as to the building future. Best Buy has already been rumored as a possible replacement for the W. Broadway Ave. store.

Some in Forest Lake were saddened by the closing of County Market this winter with the arrival of Cub Foods. Two SuperValu affiliated stores were not in the cards.

The good news is that County Market employees who wanted jobs found them with Cub. And the Lake Shoppes owners did not wait long to fill the County Market space.

Petters will open a general merchandise store offering big discounts in late April. Other vacant holes in Lake Shoppes are being filled as the center remains strong and vibrant.

The same holds at WestLake Plaza where Rainbow Foods is the anchor. The center is fully leased and plans are being explored for construction of new retail space on the northern end of the mall site.

If the area has a weak link, it is the south side of Forest Lake.

Northland Mall continues to be the poor cousin in the marketplace despite having several successful and loyal tenants who have logged many years of business and like the mall location.

Some of the White Mart space in Northland Mall has been filled by The Forum but the old Super Valu space is long vacant.

The public continues to wonder if the Northland Mall ownership is serious about improving the mall and supporting the loyal store owners now there. If they are not, it is a shame a new owner canít be found who would be more aggressive in doing something with Northland Mall.

It has been nearly two years since Lakes Cinema 5, located to the south of Northland Mall, closed and there is no sign of the building being used again.

On the other side of Highway 61 sits the vacant Town ëN County Lanes building which closed amid bank foreclosure nearly two years ago. Its future is uncertain.

The loss of the areaís movie theater and bowling alley has added to the areaís inability to address its recreational needs that include a community center.

Therein lies the big challenge for our leaders.

The business community is by and large strong and vibrant and taking care of itself. More effort is needed at addressing the needs of our citizens and youth in terms of facilities and services that could be found in a community center.

Efforts are being made through the task force now in place. It is a volunteer group that is catching some negative feedback by exploring big options and having the willingness to dream big.

It is such big dreams that need to catch life if the Forest Lake area is ever to step from its shadow as a little, sleepy resort place on old Highway 61. In some ways the area is willing to take that step, but can only make it half the distance.

One of our neighbors to the south, Lino Lakes, is no longer the timid little town next door. Now larger than Forest Lake in terms of business and residential base, Lino Lakes is not being timid.

The city is now making plans for an $8.6 million bond issue this spring to improve park facilities and a trail system.

It is this kind of optimism that may one day be needed in our communities if the needs are to be addressed correctly. In such a decision, it will be up to the people to determine how many of their tax dollars they are willing to share to help build a better community.

Perhaps next year when our readers pickup this annual Progress Edition report, theyíll find news not only of the businesses changes that are sure to come, but also signs that this area is willing to address some of the other tough questions.

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