Projects with electric cooperative ties receive awards

Two projects that Great River Energy and its member-owner cooperatives played a role in securing financing for, and a city that has found a niche with advanced manufacturing, food production and foreign direct investment, were recently recognized with awards.

Minnesota Real Estate Journal, a statewide commercial real estate publication, recently handed out awards to companies, cities and local executives in recognition of their respective successful projectsand initiatives from the last year.

Included among the award winners is Crystal Brook Senior Living Community, a 138,000-square-foot, 88-unit facility in Park Rapids, Minn., that was completed in October 2018. The facility was chosen as the winner for the “Senior Housing – Greater Minnesota” category, and was constructed by KI Developers, a venture between nonprofit Knute Nelson and Innovative Companies, Inc.

Great River Energy member-owner Itasca-Mantrap Cooperative Electrical Association provided a $1.36 million zero-interest United States Department of Agriculture loan to KI Developers to construct the facility. In addition, Great River Energy provided KI Developers a $350,000 zero-interest loan through its E3 Loan program, to facilitate the building’s utilization of energy-efficient HVAC equipment.

Knute Nelson and Innovative Builders, Inc. were honorees of the Progress Minnesota 2019 awards, presented by Finance & Commerce, for their involvement in the Crystal Brook project as well.

Minnesota Real Estate Journal also recognized the city of Faribault with its “Municipality of the Year” award as the city completed several multimillion-dollar industrial projects in 2018 and has a number on the books for 2019. One of those projects is a new Daikin Applied manufacturing plant.

Great River Energy assisted in the project through the first use of the co-op’s new Business Expansion Loan program, which facilitates commercial and industrial investment in areas served by its member-owner cooperatives. The new Daikin facility will be served with reliable electricity by Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric.