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Kasson City EDA unveils 2025–27 work plan focusing on housing, infrastructure and business retention
Summary
The Kasson City EDA presented a condensed 2025–27 work plan with four pillars — business growth and retention; workforce and housing; infrastructure and redevelopment; and communication and engagement — and set numeric outcome targets including a 10% increase in commercial tax capacity and 50 development‑ready acres.
The Kasson City Economic Development Authority reviewed a reworked 2025–27 work plan that sets four pillars and specific outcome targets intended to guide local development and outreach.
Ian, the EDA coordinator, told the board: "The 4 different pillars are business growth and retention, workforce and housing, infrastructure and redevelopment, and then, communication and engagement." He listed outcome targets that the plan ties to the 2027 horizon, including a 10% increase in commercial tax capacity, 10% increase in industrial tax capacity, 50 acres of development‑ready land, five new commercial businesses and two new industrial businesses, plus downtown targets (15,000 square feet of new or rehabilitated space and five new or rehabilitated storefronts).
Housing and development updates: Ian said the city is close to finalizing a cemetery‑land transaction for about 20 acres south of Windsor Court that would support an expansion of 87 manufactured homes with community space, a storm shelter and a future city park. He also said the city applied for a Greater Minnesota Housing Infrastructure grant to make the far west side of that site developable.
City Administrator Tim clarified the city's role on land: "...state that we won't be buying land, we will be working to help make it more readily viable, like infrastructure or whatever we need to," he said, explaining the approach focuses on providing infrastructure (water and sewer connections) to make privately owned parcels developable rather than on direct land acquisition.
Why it matters: the plan bundles pro‑development incentives (TIF financing, infrastructure investments) with outreach measures (surveys, business retention visits) to target private investment and workforce retention. Ian cited recent local activity — the Edge apartments opened with TIF support and several other residential and commercial projects are moving forward — as a rationale for consolidating goals.
Next steps: the board discussed survey design and timing (favoring short, mostly electronic surveys with an option for paper at the library and a "don't know" response), and Ian said staff will refine the work plan, pursue the housing grant, and return with updates on the cemetery transaction and grant outcomes.
