Cedar Construction a Headache for Some Apple Valley Businesses

The road construction that began in April is set to continue through most of 2012.

While the changing road and lane closures can cause headaches for drivers, some businesses along Cedar also have begun experiencing headaches in the past few months.

One area that seems to be getting the full effect, according to business owners and managers there, is the strip of stores on the southbound side of the road, near the Apple Valley Transit Station at 155th Street West.

“It’s horrible,” said Manager Joe Hendricks. “Just about all our walk-in traffic is gone.”

He said that the auto repair industry as a whole has improved since last year, but the construction “changes the scope” of business projections.

Christine Morabito, owner of Johnny’s Chicago Style Beef and Dogs, which has been in the location for two years, said she was thinking about closing her restaurant because business has been slow during the construction months; she said she hoped she could reopen at another time, maybe at another location.

A for-sale sign is now in the store window.

Ed Kearney, president of the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce, said he really hasn’t heard complaints from businesses.

“I’m looking at that as good,” he said.

Dakota County Construction Engineer Ross Beckwith also said he’s received little feedback about the construction thus far, perhaps because the county frequently updates its website and signage along the road with closure information.

“I think they realize it’s going to happen,” Beckwith said. “The faster we can do it, the sooner we’ll be out of their way.”

This is the phase of construction that presumably has less impact on drivers and businesses, Kearney said; people in other cities have said that when inner lane closures begin, rather than outer lane closures, it can discourage left-hand turns, Kearney said.

Some entrances to groups of businesses along Cedar will change permanently; right-of-way consultants have helped the county work on those plans for several years, Beckwith said.

The southbound entrance between 153rd and 155th, to and other businesses near the transit station, will close permanently; the intersection at 155th will become a three-quarter intersection without a signal, as will the intersection at 142nd and Cedar, Beckwith said.

The road at 155th/Whitney Way, west of Cedar, is scheduled to close temporarily for a week beginning Monday, according to county construction plans.

Manager Dan Zimpel said that while the store has been doing all right—the request for delivery service, though, has increased—he wonders what the week will be like for customers and delivery drivers with that closure in place, with the other entrance to the parking lot already closed off.

Jeff Broze, the owner of the store that has been located near the transit station since 1997, said he’s “trying to be patient.”

“I think we’re just getting into the real heart of it now,” he said of the constructon that has created “scattered” customer traffic to the store.

Business owners and managers did meet with project officials before construction began to hear about the project and provide input—it was a “packed house,” Broze said. Officials told businesses about an advertising opportunity available to help if they felt they needed it because of the construction’s impact.

So far, two businesses have taken advantage of grant money the city received from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, said Apple Valley City Planner Maggie Dykes. There is $5,000 total for businesses within a half mile of Cedar Avenue, she said, which can be used through June 2012 for a business’s cash flow analysis and marketing plan.

A business likely would receive $200 or less from the grant, meaning about 25 more Apple Valley businesses could receive assistance, Dykes said.

Farther north along Cedar, at the Clean ‘n’ Press cleaners near 150th, Manager Chloe Wright said she hasn’t noticed a difference in customer traffic. The usual entrances to the parking lot there remain, though some are obscured by construction barriers.

Plenty of the cleaners’ customers, however, have commented on the construction, she said.

Kearney said the Chamber has plans for co-op advertising if there seem to be problems en masse, but it appears consumers are still coming to businesses along Cedar in Apple Valley. The help wouldn’t go just to Chamber members, he said.

“When it comes to Cedar, we’re talking to nonmembers as well,” Kearney said.

Broze said he hopes business picks up once the construction is over.

“Time will tell,” he said.