Cambridge Community Spotlight: Critical mass

Critical mass

Cambridge leaders add services to give people reason to stay

by Matt Krumrie  

Not many people can give a history lesson on Cambridge quite like longtime resident George Johnson, president of Cambridge Properties.

Johnson could spend hours talking about how the central Minnesota town has developed from a rural farming outpost to an active retail, manufacturing and small-business hub in Isanti County, where it is also the county seat.

With a population at almost 7,000, one might not consider this city bustling. Cambridge still has the old-town charm, small-town feel, and everyone-knows-everybody relationships that can bind a community together.

But to that business and community leaders have added big-box retail: The Wal-Mart Supercenter in Cambridge is the top-selling store in the nation. They’ve added housing developments: More than 1,000 plats were set aside for houses in 2003 alone. They’ve added to the industrial base: A 110-acre industrial park is under construction, the third in the city. And they’ve made citywide improvements, including a $3-million facelift to the historic downtown.

“Times are changing. Some like it, some don’t,” says Johnson. “We used to be somewhat of a bedroom community because people would head to the Cities to find work. We have always had good services — hospitals, doctors, professional services, good schools, churches, and a solid industrial base. But we didn’t have quite enough to get everyone to stay here for all their needs. Now we do.”

According to a 2002 Census Bureau report, Isanti County was the 13th fastest-growing county in the nation in the number of new housing units. From July 2001 to July 2002 that statistic rose 6.1 percent, or 745 new units. No other Minnesota county was in the top 100. (St. Croix County, Wisconsin, was 28th.)

Cambridge is bordered by Princeton, 18 miles to the west; North Branch, 13 miles to the east; Braham, 10 miles to the north; and Isanti, five miles to the south. Mora is 28 miles to the north.

In 1996 State Highway 95 was re-rerouted around the east edge of town near the junction of Highway 65. Since then the area has taken off. Retail stores such as Sears, Menard’s, Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart have opened in the area. A third industrial park, a 120-acre campus with the capacity to hold almost 20 businesses, is being constructed — giving the city almost 300 acres of industrial base.

The expansion has worked twofold. The addition of more jobs has helped more people find and keep work in the city, and it has attracted more people from outside the area to live in Cambridge, work in Cambridge, and shop in Cambridge.

“We have a good mix of people who commute to work in Cambridge from Mora, Mille Lacs County and Pine County,” says economic development director John Sullivan. “At the same time we have numerous people who commute to the Twin Cities to work, but enjoy living in a city that still has that small-town feel, with modern necessities. You can zip down highway 65 and be in Blaine in 20 minutes and I can get to downtown Minneapolis in 44 minutes, and by today’s standards that’s pretty quick.”

Sullivan says people still think twice when he tells them the Wal-Mart Supercenter — a 215,000-square-foot store — is the No. 1 selling Wal-Mart in the United States.

“They pull customers from a real large area,” says Sullivan. “They have people driving from northern Pine County all the way down to north of Forest Lake and as far as 40 miles from the west. That also benefits other business as well, because since they are here they want to get all their retail needs in one stop.”

Mayor Marlys Palmer has lived in the city for more than 30 years. She and her husband, Red, own Red’s TV and Appliance. The couple have two kids who grew up in the town, moved away, and are now back in Cambridge raising families.

“I guess you could say we lived the American dream,” says Palmer. “We found a city we could raise our family in, bought a house, ran a business. Cambridge is a city we are all very proud of.”

As mayor re-elected this November, Palmer sees the benefits of the recent growth and redevelopment. With 212 building permits issued in 2002, construction isn’t about to slow. But not everything being constructed is brand new. The city fire, police and administrative offices were moved into vacant space in what was once a struggling strip mall in the center of the city. In addition to the city offices the rest of the mall is now full with tenants.

“It was a win-win situation, we moved and upgraded, and we added to a struggling location,” says Palmer.

Palmer sees competition coming to town, and along with rising insurance costs (both health and liability) for business owners, she sees how it’s getting tougher and tougher for the small-business owner to make it. There are only four people who work at Red’s, and she and her husband are two of them.

“People think the big-box retail was added to please the new people moving into town,” says Palmer. “But the people who have lived in Cambridge their entire life want to stay here to shop too, and now they can.

“As mayor it does scare me that we might grow too fast, that we might lose that sense of community. As a business owner, we’ve been around long enough that word of mouth is all the advertising we need to do, fortunately. But we are always trying to find new ways to find business, because it’s a tough market out there.”

The growth has been welcome for retail businesses. More people coming to town mean more money is spent in town. But at the same time, there is more competition than ever.

Rolling with changes
Jerry Westrom, president of Ruralpolitan LLC, is one small-business owner who has adjusted to changes. Westrom owns numerous small businesses in Cambridge, including Sears and Westrom’s Corner Travel Plaza, which is a 3.5-acre plot off of Main Street and Highway 65 that features an Ember’s restaurant and Conoco gas station/convenience store/car wash.

The Sears store is booming. With all the housing developments in town, people need to buy appliances, snow blowers, lawn tractors and other household supplies, says Westrom. The store is third in the entire country in lawn tractor sales. Its staff of 12 is the largest since the store opened late October of 1996.

Westrom also recently turned his Embers store, in the same location as his Conoco gas station at the Corner Plaza, into a sports bar-style restaurant. Westrom says the switch was based on demographics. Instead of attracting the customer over age 55, he wanted to attract the customer between 25 and 45, “because that is the age group that goes out and spends the most money,” he says.

Westrom had another motive in the change. Over the last 18 months seven restaurants, including an Applebee’s, have opened within five miles of his Embers. Westrom employs about 40 people at the Embers, and says he receives about 30 to 40 applications per week from people who want to work at the restaurant.

“Our sales were declining, but we’ve stopped the bleeding on that and have seen positive sales growth,” he says. “We’ve stabilized the staff and have the best crew working there since it’s been open.”

Westrom says servers at his Embers store average about $9-$15 per hour, which is comparable to similar positions in the Twin Cities, but he adds, “They’re probably saving anywhere from $2 to $4 per day in gas money by staying in Cambridge. That adds up real fast.”

Westrom also owns Cambridge Tree Farm and Westrom Tree Farm. Those businesses are near their final years though, Westrom says, mostly because the trees have matured. However, as a way to attract business to his gas station, and Embers, he sells trees at the plaza.

“We get a lot of people who stop by to get gas that come in to eat,” says Westrom. “At the same time we have a lot of construction crews in town that may be staying overnight or can’t work because it’s a rainy day, who want to watch a game or grab a bite to eat, so I think it is a real good concept.”

Westrom says that expansion and growth don’t always mean success, no matter where you are, and no matter how good things appear.

“You have to be cautious what you get into,” says Westrom. “You still have to apply the basic rules of business. Just because things appear to be growing doesn’t mean all businesses will succeed. There was a business that recently opened up in a nice facility but it had no parking. Downtown was remodeled, but parking can be an issue. People don’t like to walk to get where they need to go, especially in the Minnesota winter.”

A $3-million renovation of its downtown, including new sidewalks, signal lights and updates to the Main Street businesses was much needed, the locals say. At the same time, many of the businesses kept their original facades, keeping the old-time charm so many people like.

“It’s a beautiful facelift,” says  Sullivan. “I think a lot of people downtown were nervous when places like Wal-Mart and Menard’s came into town with the big expansion on the edge of town. But all the businesses seem to be doing well.”

Lois Oestreich owns Herman’s Bakery and Deli in downtown. She has been in business for 23 years and employs about 25 people. She agreed that the facelift has added a new feel to downtown. “people seem more eager to come downtown,” she says. But at the same time citywide expansion has not helped her business. The addition of the Wal-Mart and County Market has taken away potential customers.

She says the addition of  residents and more people “working in town” have brought customers in. But rising insurance costs can hurt.

“I think in general it’s harder and harder for small businesses like ours to make a profit, no matter where you are located,” says Oestreich. “We are as busy as ever, but it’s not adding to the bottom line.”

Strong manufacturing
One industry that is thriving in the area is manufacturing. The city has attracted local and national companies that manufacture goods used throughout the world.

“The city has always had a strong  manufacturing base,” says John Schlagel, a co-founder of Schlagel Industries, one of the original manufacturing companies in the town, started in the 1950s. John Schlagel retired about four years ago, and his nephew Chris Schlagel now is president and owner of the company that employs about 65 people and manufactures grain-, feed- and fertilizer-handling equipment.

“The community leaders I think realized long ago the value of a strong industrial and manufacturing base,” says Schlagel.

Palmer agrees. “Even through the economic downturn, our manufacturing and industrial base was strong,” she says. “Those are good jobs with good wages and benefits that allow people to live and work here and enjoy a nice life.”

Sullivan says the city has been able to gain numerous local and national grants that have played a part in attracting business. Included is a $450,000 grant from the U.S. Rural Development Association; a $92,000 low-interest loan from Great River Energy; and the implementation of TIF programs. Gov. Tim Pawlenty also personally presented Cambridge officials with the plans to move ahead with the statewide Job Zone program, which, as Sullivan says, “basically offers a ton of tax incentives for new businesses, and is going to make coming to Cambridge that much more attractive.”

Kathi Schaaf, executive director of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, says that 250 businesses, about 90 percent of Cambridge businesses, are involved in the Chamber.

“Business owners want to be involved here,” she says. “As a chamber we have an obligation to provide services, resources and programs that benefit our local business people. When we travel and talk with other chambers, I think they are surprised at the amount of activity we have going on in this town. But from a business standpoint, it’s a great time to be involved with the city of Cambridge.”

The city is also home to a municipal airport, the Isanti County government offices, and Grandview Christian Ministries, which offers support for seniors, from independent senior housing and assisted living services to skilled health care services.

 The educational system plays a role, including Cambridge Isanti High School with about 1,200 students; and the Cambridge branch of Anoka-Ramsey Community College, The Cambridge Medical Center is the largest health care facility in the region.