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EDC director outlines nearly $14 million in economic-development commitments and says Kroger will leave Dickinson after 45 years
Summary
David Funk presented a staff update summarizing EDC investments and projected returns and said Kroger informed the city it would close its Dickinson store after 45 years; the EDC is seeking replacement tenants and coordinating with regional partners.
David Funk, the executive director of the Dickinson Economic Development Corporation, told the board that the EDC’s portfolio of commitments and related public investments tied to economic development sums to roughly $14 million when combined with related district funds, and that those commitments are expected to support substantial new taxable property and ongoing tax generation.
Funk presented a spreadsheet he said showed EDC commitments in individual projects and the projected value of completed developments. He said the EDC’s bottom-line commitments in the arrangements presented were $3,990,000 but later explained that, when combined with Management District (DMD) funds and other commitments, the total invested for economic development is "just under $14,000,000." Funk described projected new taxable property values of about $144 million in residential and $99 million in commercial development and estimated "$6,500,000 a year" in new tax generation once projects are complete.
Funk stressed these figures are estimates based on current assessments and that most incentives are performance-based. He said some incentives consisted of land value used as part of negotiated development incentives and that payouts or incentives are tied to performance objectives.
Kroger closure: Funk also told the board that Kroger had informed EDC representatives that it planned to pull out of Dickinson after 45 years as a community partner. Funk said Kroger did not provide a reason for the decision and that EDC staff are working daily with the property owner and commercial brokers to pursue replacement tenants, including chains with smaller footprints and options to divide the space. Funk said the store’s union representatives indicated Kroger must offer affected employees relocation options and that the store employed about 45 people.
Several board members criticized an outside publication’s characterization that Kroger closed because the community did not support it, calling that assertion unfounded. Funk said EDC staff were contacting regional partners and retailers and that the EDC would pursue options to replace the grocery operator and restore lost jobs.
Other staff updates included site maintenance issues (fallen trees damaging a fence on EDC property at 3202 Ohio) and a notice that an anticipated developer opening (Ziegler’s) had moved from June to July–August.
