2 min read January 2022 — Eden Prairie has all the ingredients to be a great place to do business. In an interview with Invest:, President Pat MulQueeny of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce said that despite the high tax environment in Minnesota, if “you take a look at the success of this community and compare taxes versus opportunity, there are many reasons why opportunity still wins out in Eden Prairie.”
What are the main opportunities you see in the region?
In terms of opportunities, we’ve seen some reinvestment in businesses here. There are new openings. We have an Asian Mall concept that’s taking over a location in Eden Prairie that has been empty. It will be an Asian marketplace that will have restaurants and provide an opportunity for other small businesses to bring their business to light.
Our community is very excited about the opening of Scheels, a major retailer that opened during the pandemic. They took over the old Sears location in our Eden Prairie Center shopping mall, and they have been one of the top stores in terms of sales and are a regional draw attracting shoppers from across the Twin Cities and beyond. That has generated interest in terms of retail as well as shopping locally, from which our restaurants have also benefited. That has played a huge role in our community in terms of revitalizing some of that retail energy that has been lost over the years, to be frank. I also see opportunities in real estate. Eden Prairie is a good spot for businesses to land and we have several properties being developed in the office space. The Southwest Light Rail Transit is also being built from Minneapolis and to the southwest to Eden Prairie, which will lead to easier transportation for the community and help recruit and retain employees.
What are the leading economic drivers for Eden Prairie and how do you attract businesses to the area?
We are a unique community in terms of diversity of business. Businesses have been highly successful in terms of per capita income and that’s part of the business community and makeup here. It’s not necessarily a bedroom community as we have Fortune 500 companies like CH Robinson that is headquartered here with about 2,400 employees; we have Optum, which is part of UnitedHealth Group and has over 6,000 employees in Eden Prairie. We have a lot of technology companies and manufacturers, and then we also have some major regional headquarter facilities that have high-paying jobs in sectors like manufacturing, professional services and accounting services. The airport infrastructure is also a key reason for doing business in our area. Flying Cloud Airport was rated in the Top 10 nationally in terms of total operations during the pandemic. Those types of things are great for our businesses and these key dynamics set us apart in terms of opportunities for businesses to come here and be successful. We also have a highly rated education system.
How do you promote business creation?
We drive entrepreneurship at a much higher level than probably most communities do. We developed a partnership with the city, the Chamber and the school districts to develop an incubator-like space. The idea is that residents can access that space, utilize resources like computer systems, 3D printers, meeting spaces and all those types of things you’d expect to find but it also ties directly to the high school. Kids who have ideas for creating their own businesses can go to the space and learn from other entrepreneurs and experts and get on a career path toward starting their own business.
We have great businesses here and we have a lot of great smaller businesses that call Eden Prairie home. We are always thinking about the future, and the future is about how we are going to continue to create businesses and jobs within our footprints here in Eden Prairie, how we tie that into our high school kids and youth so that they understand the opportunities of starting their own business and how we can support that.
Why do you think Minnesota is still a good place to do business despite the high tax environment?
It’s a legitimate question to ask about taxes because we are not known as a low-tax state. In terms of opportunities for businesses here, it’s a great place to do business. Our workforce is highly educated and well skilled. There’s a creativity and a community here that drives a lot of things that we see in terms of local success and people working together. In terms of opportunity specifically in Eden Prairie, we have a diverse group of businesses, we have high-tech, we have manufacturing, we have Fortune 500 companies, we have a major retail center, we have our regional airport. If you take a look at the success of this community and compare taxes versus opportunity, there are many reasons why opportunity still wins out in Eden Prairie.
What are your key near-term objectives?
We will continue to build off a few key dynamics. The workforce obviously will continue to be key for us. We have a strong commitment to our businesses. In today’s marketplace, it’s a struggle to find applicants and get employees and we’re going to address that. We just held our annual Career Expo with nearly 60 organizations participating and over 1,100 students attending. We have a job fair in the spring with the high school, as well. Entrepreneurship will continue to be key as well and we will continue to build out programming like the Innovation sandbox concept with the city and the school districts.
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