Olmsted County site near corn cob is seeking development proposals
Olmsted County in 2019 purchased the Seneca plant on 3rd Ave SE and Highway 14 East. The purchase price at that time was 5.6 Million. The property had several buildings on it including the iconic ear of corn. After demolition of all the buildings and the preparation of the land to make it a grass field the County invested approximately $1.1 Million into this work. The ear of corn was left to stay to grace our skyline for generations to come.
Now that the property has been sitting for several years Olmsted County is looking for offers and development plans submitted by March 28th 2025. Some of the details within the proposal include the details below 👇
How to submit a request for development interest
Responses must be submitted prior to the response close date and time (March 28, 2025) through the electronic bidding site.
Submissions should not be more than two pages in length and must include the following:
The name, address and contact information of the firm submitting the response.
The amount of land and the approximate boundaries of the land the responder is interested in purchasing.
The price being offered.
A brief statement of the proposed plan or intent for the property.
A general statement addressing anticipated funding sources for a proposed project.
A statement of whether Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is being proposed as part of the project.
A statement addressing compliance with relevant city, county, and state zoning, land use, and historic preservation requirements, and site access, attributable to the site.
Olmsted County intends to preserve the Ear of Corn water tower; thus, responders should indicate how they intend to ensure that preservation in connection with any redevelopment of all or part of the site. 
Responders who have questions or seek additional information, should use the “Questions” tab on the electronic bidding site. Questions will appear on the website as submitted. Information obtained from any source other than the electronic bidding site shall be considered invalid.
"Our goal through this process is to find a developer with a plan that will best serve the needs of Olmsted County residents and visitors,”
shared Olmsted County Facilities and Building Operations Director Mat Miller
. Some additional details worth mentioning about this site include the following:
đźš™ According to MNDOT over 22,000 Cars per day travel on HWY 14 E
🍴The Workshop food hall opened in July 2021 and has showed what is possible in this area!
🥖 Recently built and opened Freddy's Bakery on 3rd Ave SE shows promise for a small business corridor along this corridor
đźš— South of HWY 14 on 3rd Ave SE MNDOT shows traffic counts of 10,700 Cars per day.
🏢 Zoning according to the city of Rochester is MXT-NOD
The site has lots of opportunity and it will be a interesting to watch what the future could hold!
FULL COUNTY PACKAGE AT THIS LINK BELOW
