Steffenson Gives State Of The City For Maple Grove

MAPLE GROVE, MN —Mayor Mark Steffenson gave the annual State of the City address Thursday in the form of a discussion with CCX Media's Dave Kiser, which was broadcast on Facebook.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was a recurring theme during the 18-minute discussion, as Steffenson touched on topics like business, demographics, education, recreation and public works. The mayor noted that 2020 had its share of challenges in Maple Grove, like it did in all communities, but he said he was optimistic about the city's prospects in 2021.

"The city is strong, vibrant and the residents are resilient," Steffenson said. "We'll continue to make this a safe, secure place to live. We're going to work with our businesses to make sure they'll continue to grow in a strong and vibrant fashion, creating new jobs for our residents, which makes this a wonderful place to live."

Steffenson said the pandemic obviously had "a drastic impact on businesses," and a few did close. But the mayor said the city also helped stabilize many businesses, and welcomed some new businesses, which continue to hire.

In a recorded segment, Brett Angell, the business and economic development manager for the City of Maple Grove, talked about how the city helped stabilize businesses during the pandemic through two loan programs. In total, 61 businesses received forgivable loans of over $720,000, Angell said.

Angell also said unemployment in Maple Grove followed a v-shaped pattern in 2020. The unemployment level was at 2.5 percent prior to the pandemic, climbed to 8 percent at one point, but has dropped down to 3 percent.

Despite not yet getting the results of the 2020 Census, Steffenson said the American Community Survey (ACS) has estimated that Maple Grove has 41,000 jobs in the city and that employment has grown by over 20 percent over the last decade, with the manufacturing sector leading the way. The mayor said the ACS projects the city will have 50,000 jobs or more by 2040.

When it comes to education, the mayor said the district, Osseo Area Schools ISD 279, continues to grow, and that Maple Grove is planning a new elementary school in the Northwest part of the city.

Speaking about recreation, Steffenson said Maple Grove was lucky during the pandemic because it offered many outdoor options. Though it obviously was a difficult year for programmed recreation.

Steffenson noted the indoor Farmers Market moved from the Community Center to the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes in order to accommodate more socially-distanced shopping.

The city made several upgrades, according to the mayor, including new LED lighting at the city government building, various athletic fields, the Sports Dome and many street lights.

Looking ahead to 2021, Steffenson updated two major road construction projects. He said the Interstate 94/Brockton Lane Interchange project is expected to be done by the fall. Meanwhile, the city is looking for federal and state funds to help complete the last segment of Highway 610 to I-94 project.

Steffenson said the city continues to look for ways to refresh Main Street, which is over 20 years old.

"We've got to keep the Main Street area fresh, vibrant and attractive to new businesses," said Steffenson, who noted that continued apartment growth in that area will help the surrounding businesses.

Finally Steffenson spoke about two big growth locations. The Minnesota Health Village, near Maple Grove Hospital, is a 100-acre mixed-use development that will bring housing, senior housing and also new additions to the area's medical community.

Steffenson also said the neighborhoods near the Hindu Temple of Minnesota are projected to be the areas that see the most development over the next 10 years.