Kendall Howard Not Coming To Centerville
Delays, Better Offer Lead Company To Move On
CENTERVILLE - Kendall Howard will not be moving its corporate headquarters to Centerville after all, and the City Council isn't happy about it.
After City Administrator Dallas Larson told council members that the company's relocation to Centerville was "off the table," council directed him to draft a letter to Gerald Rehbein, the owner of the property the company was interesting in purchasing, telling him that the city won't spend any additional staff time facilitating the sale of his land until he resolves issues with his property that delayed the sale and ultimately forced Kendall Howard to relocate elsewhere.
City staff spent many hours drawing up plans that would have created a TIF District to facilitate the redevelopment of the property on Cochranwhich Kendall Howard hoped to build. After council rejected the idea of a new TIF District, city staff had been exploring the possibility of tapping into the Minnesota Investment Fund to help pay for some of those redevelopment costs.
The Rice Creek Watershed District, which must approve any redevelopment project on Rehbein's property, took issue with some of the wetlands on the property and told Rehbein and Kendall Howard that drainage issues would have to be addressed before they would sign off on the redevelopment project.
"There was a sense amongst the council that the property owner could have taken some proactive measure to have the property ready rather than run into this when we're so far along in the process," said Larson.
While council expressed frustration with Rehbein, both Larson and Kendall Howard CEO Randy Herreid placed some of the blame with RCWD as well.
Larson said that "Rice Creek is getting much more difficult," while Herreid said that "the Rice Creek Watershed is about the tightest organization I've seen in my life."
"The watershed is the reason we aren't going to Centerville," Herreid said. "They made us do some tiny improvements [to the property], but in order to approve them they added forty days to the approval process," he added.
Time was a big factor in the company's decision, Herreid said, as the company hopes to be moved into their new corporate headquarters by next spring.
Although Kendall Howard will be receiving more public funding from the city they decided to relocate to than Centerville was offering, Herreid said that he would have loved to move his company to Centerville, nonetheless.
"We loved Centerville, we loved the location, and I cannot be any more thankful to city staff for their hard work," Herreid said, adding that he lives a mile from where the Centerville headquarters would have been located and was hoping that his company would become a positive presence in the community.
Herreid declined to specify which city the company will be moving to, as final negotiations are still in process.
Despite the fact that the Kendall Howard's corporate headquarters won't be coming to Centerville, Herreid said that the company has several ventures planned in the next few years that will involve the expansion of the company into different area cities, "and Centerville is at the top of the list."
Kendall Howard manufactures rack systems, data cabinets, and various types of technology-focused furniture. Herreid said that the company is growing at an astounding 30% per quarter, which makes it one of the fastest growing companies in the state.
Council was clearly disappointed in the outcome of the matter, anticipating the company's presence would have provided an economic shot in the arm for the city.
"I'm sad to see them go," said Council Member Linda Broussard Vickers.
The property owner was out of town and unavailable for comment.