Production Ending, Marketing Beginning for Electrolux Property

ST. CLOUD -- Once production ends Friday at the Electrolux plant in St. Cloud, what will become of that site?

Cathy Mehelich is the St. Cloud Economic Development Director. She says, because it is a privately owned facility, the city doesn't have a lot of say in what happens with it. But, she expects that the company will start marketing the property for potential buyers soon.

We do know that they are working with a real estate representative.  We will be in communication with them very quickly hereafter the plant officially closes and we'll be talking with them about the resources that the city has available.  But also try to understand from them what their short term and long term intentions for the property are.

Mehelich says it is a very large piece of property with 45 acres and 900,000 square feet of space.

She says its close proximity to Highway 15 and a rail line should make it an attractive site for manufacturers.

An Electrolux spokeswoman says they will continue to have a team in place to manage the facility and inventory for the next several months.

Kelley Luckstein with the Mayo Clinic Department of Public Affairs says there is 'no truth' to the rumors that they are interested in the site.

Electrolux is St. Cloud's second-largest private employer with about 720 people that work at the plant. Mehelich says soon after the freezer maker announced the closure in January of 2018 the city applied for and received a federal grant. The money has been used to hire a full-time Economic Recovery Coordinator. Their goal is to build stronger relationships with the large companies that are still here.

We did some research to look at our top 30 employers in the city and recognized that about 30 of them their headquarters are located outside the state of Minnesota, similar to Electrolux.

Mehelich says they have identified 13 companies and have been working with them to make sure they have what they need to continue to operate here in St. Cloud.