Baltic hopes residential boom brings more businesses this year

Jan. 21, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.

After years of seeing consistent residential growth, Mayor Scott Grunewaldt hopes 2021 is the year more businesses choose to open in Baltic.

Grunewaldt has been mayor for a few years now and has nearly a decade in city leadership. In that time, he has seen dozens of families build homes and lives in the small town north of Sioux Falls.

“We’ve averaged over 10 homes per year for the past four to five years,” Grunewaldt said.

It has contributed to a big bump in overall building activity.

In 2018, the city issued 38 building permits.

By 2019, it was up to 77 permits.

And 2020 came in at 112.

The residential growth is expected to continue with a new 53-acre housing development expected to open this spring. But Baltic also is zeroing in on attracting commercial development and bringing more businesses to the town of about 1,250 people.

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“It’s hard to ignore the residential growth we’ve had, and it just makes us more attractive to businesses,” Grunewaldt said.

To make things even easier for new businesses coming to town, the city bought frontage on commercial lots in 2020 to help spur economic development within the community.

While attracting new businesses is a big goal, Grunewaldt also noted the importance of existing Baltic businesses and continuing to support and acknowledge the role they play in the community.

“All of our local businesses are very good about reinvesting in the community,” he said.

Baltic’s Classic Corner, for example, has sponsored local youth sports teams for years. In 2020, owners Justin Goth and Shannon Kauffman purchased the commercial space they’d previously rented for three years and added upgrades to pumps, equipment and the facade.

 

They’ve also expanded menu options for customers to add some healthy alternatives, and they brought in ice cream so folks can cool down on hot summer days.

“It’s just about investing in the community and just showing the community we appreciate them,” Goth said.

He also noted the need for more businesses, saying he’d like to see a grocery store or perhaps a Dollar General come to town.

Grunewaldt said he’s also looking to attract professional services such as a dentist or a chiropractor. The Minnehaha County Economic Development Association is assisting in that effort by helping the town create a community development board.

The association works with members such as Baltic to help build capacity in their communities.

“Economic development organizations, or EDOs, serve an important role in community development, and each town should have one in some form,” said Jesse Fonkert, executive director of the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association.

“Our organization is working with Baltic leaders to create an economic development group that we can partner with in building an even stronger community, attracting more jobs to town and working to shape a shared identity. To achieve the best results, it’s  important for a community to engage with its own stakeholders, and we are happy to help with that process and provide value for our investors.”

Baltic is definitely invested when it comes to growing the community, Grunewaldt said.

“We’re really pushing,” he said. “I bet we’ve brought probably seven developers up here and toured them around town.”

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Baltic hopes residential boom brings more businesses this year

After years of seeing consistent residential growth, Mayor Scott Grunewaldt hopes 2021 is the year more businesses choose to open in Baltic.

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