Posted: 5/7/03

Gander Mountain breaks ground

Heavy, earth-moving equipment rumbled in the background last Thursday even before ground was formally broken for a new Gander Mountain store in Columbus Township.

Thatís how fast progress is being made on the new 96,000-square-foot store that is being built on a 15-acre site of the former Trout-Air property on West Freeway Drive.

Officials of Gander Mountain, developer Oppidan Investmen Company, builder Ryan Construction and Columbus Township officials gathered at the Trout-Air site on May 1 with gold-colored shovels to break ground.

By early fall, Gander Mountain will have its 65th store in the nation open for business. A twin to the Columbus store is under construction in Lakeville and the two metro stores are identical to a new store that recently opened in the Chicago market.

Mel Mettler, Columbus Town Board chair, and Elizabeth Mursko, town administrator, welcomed the arrival of the new commercial venture and thanked the various Columbus officials who have worked on the project.

ìThis Gander Mountain will truly be an asset to our community,î Mursko said.

The store is the first commercial venture in the freeway district.

ìWeíve been trying to do things right,î Mettler said of the townshipís development plans. ìGood luck to Gander Mountain and good luck to us.î

Mark Baker, head of Gander Mountain, said company projections show the Columbus store having a strong possibility of being one of the top-producing stores in the Gander Mountain network.

The Columbus store comes as part of an aggressive growth push by Gander Mountain, a major national retailer specializing in outdoor merchandise. Baker said the company will build six of the stores this year that are close to 100,000 square feet in size.

With a store in Lakeville and in the Forest Lake area on the north side of the metro area, Gander Mountain will be well positioned to capture its share of I-35 business, Baker said.

Larry Barrett, head of Oppidan, the Minnetonka-based developer, said the Columbus store is expected to cost in the range of $10 million plus to construct.

Mursko said when completed, the store will generate some $55,000 a year in property taxes to Columbus Township. That amount represents roughly 25 percent of the property taxes the store will generate, she added.

Ryan Construction will serve as general contractor on the job.

ìWhat a great day for Minnesota,î said company head Joe Ryan.

The Ryan firm, Oppidan and Gander Mountain are partnering on a number of construction projects this year.

Several special guests took part in the ground breaking last week.

Heading the list were members of the Preiner family, the owners of the Trout-Air site. Leona Preiner led the delegation that included daughters Pat and Mary and son Jesse.

Two Anoka County commissioners were also in attendance. They included Dan Erhart, county board chair, and Rhonda Sirvarajah, who represents the Columbus area on the county board.

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