News Room
California Company Brings Big Investment to Rochester Area
By Press Release
August 22, 2006
1350-acre Elk Farm Project to Offer Premiere Residential, Commercial Developments
ROCHESTER/PINE ISLAND, MN (Aug. 22, 2006) - Adding to the excitement and economic development growth of the City of Rochester and its surrounding areas, Tower Investments of Woodland, California revealed Tuesday plans for a master planned development project, which will include commercial development, technology park and residential development.
Located between Rochester and the Twin Cities off of U.S. Hwy. 52, the 1,350-acre property, known by area residents as the "Elk Farm," will host more than 700 acres of dedicated open area and residential development, 400 acres for commercial zoning and approximately 200 acres reserved for the technology park and other industrial developments.
"We were attracted to the Rochester area, because of it natural beauty, high quality of life and consistent national ranking a one of the best and smartest places to live in the country," John Pierce, vice president for Tower Investments said. "With the major financial commitment to the area from state leaders in addition to the tremendous growth surrounding the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, we knew the Rochester, Pine Island area was the perfect fit for this development. We are looking forward to becoming true community partners to the region."
The 850 elk that currently reside on the property, also known to many as the Hoehne Elk Ranch, will remain undisturbed and the ranch owners will continue to live on the property.
Pine Island City Administrator Abraham Algadi says the company made the right choice for investment in Minnesota, and especially in Pine Island, which is the only natural provider of infrastructure services that promote cohesive development in the state.
"We are extremely excited to be working with Tower Investments on a long-term, committed basis," said Algadi. "The scale of this development is so immense it is more than we've ever worked with before. Our main objective is to promote orderly growth around the city, and Tower's development represents a validation of a more than 15-year vision that the city would begin growing in this direction."
Geoff Griffin, Chief Executive Officer of GGG/Engineering, Surveying & Planning of Chatfield, Minnesota has been named the project manager for the development.
Elk Farms, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tower Investments is a real estate development company which specializes in rural developments. Headquartered in Northern California, Tower invests in a wide diversity of real estate throughout the United States and Canada. Tower takes extra measures in preserving the natural beauty of the land which it develops.