Hermantown Garners $2 Million DEED Grant

For Immediate Release – December 31, 2024

Hermantown Garners $2 Million DEED Grant

Hermantown, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced more than $4.3 million in grants to four infrastructure projects December 30, with Hermantown garnering $2 million in funding for a new industrial park on a former Superfund site.

“This grant from DEED will play a pivotal role in bringing this site to a much more productive use,” said Chad Ronchetti, Hermantown’s Economic Development Director. “This will solve for an area shortage in this type of available land and create critical jobs for the families of this region helping bolster the economic engine of northeastern Minnesota.”

The grant will assist in funding the construction of public utilities and streets into a new 35-acre business park. The venture – dubbed Hawkline Business Park – is estimated to attract more than $80 million in private investment and create nearly 300 jobs. The total project is cost is projected at just under $5 million, with the non-grant portion funded by private investment and a match from the City of Hermantown.

“The economic vitality of our region is soon to be stronger because of this public-private partnership,” said Ronchetti. “Private development takes significant risk, and the City of Hermantown is grateful to the private partners who shoulder that risk to help keep us economically vibrant.”

The site, located on the corner of Lavaque Bypass and U.S. Highway 53, previously housed the Arrowhead Refinery, which disposed of oil waste on the property. Originally listed as a Superfund site with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the mid-1980s, it underwent significant remediation efforts in the following decades. The site was delisted as a Superfund site by the EPA in 2021.

“The complexity and resulting difficulty of redeveloping Superfund sites are unparalleled and can take decades – and the Arrowhead Refinery site is no exception, said Ronchetti. “From federal to state and local to private, this is a prime example of how patience and partnerships can revitalize even the most difficult sites.”

The other three communities to receive DEED grants included North Mankato, Stewartville, and Chisago City. The four projects in total are expected to generate more than $250 million in private investment and support more than 850 jobs.

###

For more information, contact Joe Wicklund, Communications Director, City of Hermantown, at jwicklund@hermantownmn.com or 218.729.3614.