By Sara QuamA new business is scheduled to move into the former Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce office next to the Palace Theatre.Imports Plus is a furniture and gift store that the city helped with a $5,000 loan for signage. The money actually comes from the Small Cities Development Program through the state Department of Employment and Economic Development.The Luverne Economic Development Authority approved use of the program Wednesday morning.The owners are Jennifer Anderson and Arturo Martinez. They will rent the space from Blue Mound Area Theatre, which owns the Palace and surrounding offices, for $400 a month.They expect to run the business themselves, with three part-time employees by the second year.The owners are financing the business themselves.Plaza 75Rich Dreckman’s business venture, RSD Development, is close to making an office complex out of the former True Value building on south Highway 75.LEDA may help get that venture off the ground by guaranteeing a loan or leasing one of the three office spaces until another tenant can be found.Dreckman said he expects the space to fill as soon as it is built. The bank financing construction wants lease agreements before it finalizes the deal in order for Dreckman to prove he’ll have adequate cash flow.If the LEDA does lease the space, it will be $1,313 per month. It doesn’t have a use for the space but would rent it in support of Dreckman.Dreckman said he will show the city bank loan papers, plans for the building and a structural engineer’s report on the soundness of the existing structure. The LEDA is supportive of the project because it will add to the tax base and improve the appearance of Highway 75.But, member Nate Golla said, "We’re not in the business of giving money away."
