Rice County Development Trends

Downtown

To fully understand the the growth of Rice County, you must first look at the growth of the metropolitan area to the north.  According to the study "Blueprint 2030" the projects an increase of the metro area by 930,000 inhabitants by 2030, a rate of over 35% (Rice Co. 2002).  The same study also found rural areas and small cities to have a household growth rate of 88% between now and 2030.  One of the main reasons why there is such a large influx of people from the Metro area into Rice County is the price of land and housing is considerably lower.  The location of I-35, that runs through the county, also provides quick access to the Twin Cities.  

Why is this important to Rice County?
  • It is an indication of growth from the largest influence on Rice County population
  • The Southwest quadrant of the metro is the fastest growing and it abuts Rice County. 
The Rice County Comprehensive Plan has also projected an estimate of population growth over the next 20 years.  The Land Use Map projection shows an addition of 90,000 people by 2020, using a growth rate of about 25%.  With the percentage of residents living in rural areas decreasing, there will be a larger demand on housing development within larger cities.  It is predicted that the red areas on the map to the right, are predicted to continue to grow.  This increased demands will force cities such as Northfield, Faribault, Dundas, Lonsdale, and Nerstrand to develop more land to produce suitable housing developments.  The main problems that the surrounding cities face is that they may not be able to provide sufficient municipal water and sewer services.  

To accommodate for the growing population, Rice County also is looking to develop a policy that would create commercial and industrial zones to generate employment and tax base.  More specifically they want to encourage large Shopping Mall corporations to build in smaller villages, such as they have done with Dundas in building Target, Cub Foods, and Menards.  Between 1996 and 1998, Rice County saw an increase of 10.9% in total retail sales (Northfield Comprehesive Plan 2001).  As development trends change along with consumer  trends, smaller towns such as Northfield are introduced to commercial development patterns such as the "big box."  The big box pattern consists of large discount stores, such as Target and Cub Foods, surrounded by smaller commercial services, like restaurants.  The particular buildings are set back from the main road, like Hwy. 3, and allow for large parking lots in front.  



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Map taken from Rice County Comprehensive Plan
Pictures Taken form Northfield Comprhensive Plan