Mayor's State of City Focuses on Lakeville's 'Position to Thrive'

"Positioned to thrive."

had the 100-person crowd say it in unison at his annual state of the city address on Wednesday. The point?

The slogan is the sharp end of the spear in Lakeville's brand new marketing strategy, and one that city leaders hope will sell  to the region, state and even neighboring states.

"Positioned to thrive," Bellows said back to the members on hand at the for a joint presentation with Lakeville Community and Economic Development Director David Olson.

The state of the city address was the formal unveiling of the new $36,000 marketing push that was paid for with a grant from Dakota County.

The goal: attracting new business and people to the city as well as growing and retaining existing businesses, Olson said.

The slogan, Olson said, focuses on the core attribute of Lakeville that the Economic Development Commission and its steering committee thought were important: location, quality of life, and Lakeville being a full-service and progressive city.

The new tag line is just part of the push, which was aided in development by urban planning consultants Arnett Muldrow of North Carolina.

There are also promotional and marketing materials such as notebooks and pens, as well as a new video highlighting what Lakeville is all about. Olson said a new website and some dabbling with Facebook and Twitter is also in the works.

Beyond the marketing push, Olson provided a glimpse at a remarkable year of success for development in Lakeville.

The city added 223 residential units in 2011, up from 140 in 2010 and the valuation of all building permits issued in 2011 was $87.6 million, up significantly form the $54 million the previous year.

All told, Lakeville was the sixth fastest growing suburban community in the Twin Cities in 2011, Olson said, and the city added 250 new jobs.

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