EDA members weigh expanding New Prague industrial park
April 10, 2026 | New Prague City, Scott County , Minnesota
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The New Prague Economic Development Authority discussed whether to expand the city's industrial park after Joshua (Josh) presented a memo outlining options including additional industrial lots or a commercial/business park.
Board members broadly supported exploring expansion opportunities but emphasized caution over immediate large capital outlays. Josh said the EDA's return on developing lots is long-term, "10, 15, 20, 30 years down the road," and framed the city's role as fostering long-range tax capacity rather than short-term land-sale profit.
The discussion centered on two competing rationales. Supporters argued municipal involvement preserves local control over who locates in new development and helps small businesses "move up" into larger space, which, in turn, grows the long-term tax base. Opponents and cautious members focused on the high upfront costs of preparing lots, the limited short-term fiscal return and the need to weigh alternatives such as investing in residential or multifamily housing that can generate faster tax revenue or meet other policy goals.
Several members pointed to rough numbers discussed in the meeting: staff cited Scott County data showing multifamily growth of about 8% and commercial growth of about 5.5% driving roughly $140,000 of additional tax capacity on that side of the county. Board members also referred to a roughly $1,000,000 development "pot" as the scale of funds that could be applied to projects, while noting that figure would not necessarily cover full infrastructure costs such as roads.
Speakers urged a measured, analytic next step. Josh and others recommended staff and the EDA pursue several background analyses 1: compare residential, multifamily and industrial scenarios; model tax-capacity and public-service demand; and explore grant or partner funding. Josh noted Rebecca from Ehlers, a financial consultant, is available to run numbers for the board.
There was no formal motion to commit to expansion. The board concluded by asking staff to return with financial scenarios and additional data to inform any future decision.
The EDA did not take a vote on development strategy; the item will return to a future meeting with staff-provided analyses.
Board members broadly supported exploring expansion opportunities but emphasized caution over immediate large capital outlays. Josh said the EDA's return on developing lots is long-term, "10, 15, 20, 30 years down the road," and framed the city's role as fostering long-range tax capacity rather than short-term land-sale profit.
The discussion centered on two competing rationales. Supporters argued municipal involvement preserves local control over who locates in new development and helps small businesses "move up" into larger space, which, in turn, grows the long-term tax base. Opponents and cautious members focused on the high upfront costs of preparing lots, the limited short-term fiscal return and the need to weigh alternatives such as investing in residential or multifamily housing that can generate faster tax revenue or meet other policy goals.
Several members pointed to rough numbers discussed in the meeting: staff cited Scott County data showing multifamily growth of about 8% and commercial growth of about 5.5% driving roughly $140,000 of additional tax capacity on that side of the county. Board members also referred to a roughly $1,000,000 development "pot" as the scale of funds that could be applied to projects, while noting that figure would not necessarily cover full infrastructure costs such as roads.
Speakers urged a measured, analytic next step. Josh and others recommended staff and the EDA pursue several background analyses 1: compare residential, multifamily and industrial scenarios; model tax-capacity and public-service demand; and explore grant or partner funding. Josh noted Rebecca from Ehlers, a financial consultant, is available to run numbers for the board.
There was no formal motion to commit to expansion. The board concluded by asking staff to return with financial scenarios and additional data to inform any future decision.
The EDA did not take a vote on development strategy; the item will return to a future meeting with staff-provided analyses.
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