By Jake Stark
Murphy News Service
When Laurie Rejzer bought Green Planet Consignment in 2012, she had high hopes for her transition to the small business world.
Two years later, a highway reconstruction project has put a damper on her dream.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the city of Rogers last April began constructing a $22-million “diverging diamond interchange” at Highway 101 and County Road 144 to improve safety and reduce traffic congestion.
From June through mid-September, construction crews shifted traffic from the existing Highway 101 to a temporary bypass, causing a significant decline in business along the affected route.
For Rejzer, the construction made it difficult for potential customers to reach Green Planet because the bypass did not grant direct access to local businesses. Her sales have decreased by an average of about 40 percent per month compared to last year, she said.
“It’s been my number one stressor all summer,” she said. “I’ve had to cut expenses I never would have thought I’d have to cut.”
Before the construction, customers could see Green Planet and easily access from Highway 101, but detours have driven many of those potential customers away, Rejzer said. Oftentimes, customers would come into the store and tell Rejzer they wouldn’t even know about it unless they had seen it from the highway, she said.
“It’s a huge problem because we rely heavily on road traffic,” she said.
Rejzer has laid off most of her staff to make ends meet and often ends up running the business herself, she said.
“It keeps me from doing the things the owner should be doing,” she said.
Rejzer is not the only local business owner experiencing problems.
Steve Benoit, co-owner of Target Sports Minnesota, said the construction has affected his business as well, although not as severely as Green Planet.
Benoit and his partner, Natalie Morrison, opened Target Sports in December 2013. As an indoor shooting range and firearm accessories store, Benoit said the business met or exceeded expectations sales through the winter months.
He noted a dramatic drop in business beginning during the summer, which he attributed not only to the construction, but also competition with outdoor shooting ranges.
“We anticipated a drop-off, but it’s been more dramatic than we thought,” Benoit said.
Benoit said he has had to reduce his staff as profits have gone down and delayed store improvements he had planned. He and Morrison have not taken a paycheck yet and still retain their day jobs.
“This is normal for any start-up business,” Benoit said. “We’ve certainly felt the decline in business from the construction too.”
The city’s response
The Rogers Public Works Department said it foresaw some of the effects the construction would have on local businesses before construction began, but he said the opportunity to improve traffic mobility and safety in the area could not be passed up.
“This is a project that was necessary and required construction,” Rogers Public Works Supervisor Josh Seifert said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t just push a button and have it pop out of the ground.”
The city has tried a variety of methods to help out the local businesses, Seifert said. He hired Madi Lewison as a projects communications intern during the summer to help open the lines of communication between the city and businesses such as Green Planet and Target Sports.
Lewison worked on several projects to help promote the businesses affected by construction, she said, adding the city mailed a special “Clip N Save” coupon booklet that promoted the businesses free of charge and created maps that illustrated how to reach the businesses during the construction.
Perhaps the most notable change came when the city relaxed its zoning laws and allowed the businesses to set up ground mounted signs advertising and directing people toward their location, Seifert said.
The signs have been one of the saving graces for Green Planet, Rejzer said. Since she has no advertising budget, it’s the only way she can promote the store besides word of mouth.
“If you irritate people enough, they will come check out your store,” she said.
Rejzer said she appreciates some of the help the city has given her, but it has not been enough to truly get Green Planet back on track, she said. She said she wishes the city could have done more, such as set up a mitigation budget, to help businesses offset the lost revenue, she said.
Benoit, on the other hand, said the city has done everything it can to help out businesses. The additional signage and advertising have helped keep his businesses floating, he said.
“The city has been very proactive in helping us out,” Benoit said. “They’ve done nothing wrong.
Outlook
The construction is set to end in October and the crews are a couple weeks ahead of schedule, Seifert said.
“Not only will this project improve safety, it will also increase the capacity and volume of traffic for these businesses once it’s finished,” he said.
Benoit said he is curious to see if his business will pick up once construction is complete. He admitted he is not exactly sure how much the construction truly affected his business.
“As a new business, we don’t really have much to measure against,” he said. “We could get a huge increase in sales and say ‘Wow, look at what we were missing out on’.”
Rejzer said she is not yet convinced the completion of the project will bring business back, she said.
“You never know until you see it for yourself,” she said. “I’m not naïve enough to think it will go back to being the same.”
If business does not pick up after the construction is complete, Rejzer is not sure if she will be able to keep the business open, she said.
Public support has kept her from closing the business, she said.
“Seeing people come in and tell me that they’re spreading the word about Green Planet has done more than anything to help,” she said. “It’s what keeps me going.”
Jake Stark is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.