Cabela's megastore to provide catalyst
Sydney,Nebraska-based Cabela's Inc. opened its third outdoor sporting goods store in Minnesota. The 185,000-squarefoot store is located in the northwest suburb of Rogers and is Cabela's first location in the Twin Cities metropolitan market. The other two Minnesota stores are in Owatonna and East Grand Forks.

Cabela's says the new Rogers superstore, at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Minnesota Highway 101, is the largest outdoor sporting goods store in the state. Cabela's currently has 10 stores nationwide with several more under construction and planned. Cabela's market research shows that Rogers is an ideal location and that Minnesota continues to be a large and growing market for the retailer.

"We've had a lot of success with our Owatonna and East Grand Forks stores, and this will be more of a destination experience with its size," says Dennis Armstrong, corporate architect for Cabela's. "Opening a third store makes sense, especially along 94 and 101, which is a fast-growing area."
The Cabela's Rogers site encompasses 55 acres and is comprised of agricultural land, wooded areas and wetlands. Many details had to be worked out before construction could begin, and Cabela's had an aggressive design and construction schedule.

To move forward, the development needed approvals from the City of Rogers, Hennepin County, the Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission and the Corps of Engineers. The property needed rezoning and site plan approval. The project site also required wetland mitigation approval and a wetland replacement plan. Also, the city developed a tax increment financing agreement for the site, which included tax abatement. In addition, a traffic study is being conducted for the general area by the City of Rogers.

This was all accomplished in about a month and a half. "We needed to meet a tight time schedule," says Gary Eitel, Rogers" city administrator. "It was fast-paced and took a lot of cooperation from a lot of people. I don't believe many cities would have had the desire or ability to take on that type of time schedule, but when Cabela's announced they were considering Rogers, it was very close to our master-plan vision and where we wanted to be."

Eitel is excited about Rogers? future. "Cabela's will be a destination," he says. ?It has raised the bar on the type and quality of development that will happen in Rogers in the future. It'll be a catalyst."

A lot of players were involved in the Cabela's project. Cabela's was represented in the land transaction by Minneapolis-based CRESA Partners, and the sellers of the land were represented by Steve Lehr, Jim DePietro, and Chet Harrison of CB Richard Ellis.

The project architect is Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, and the general contractor is Kraus-Anderson Construction Company in Circle Pines.