Spotlight On: Shelly Loberg, President & Secretary of the Board, Edina Chamber of Commerce/Explore Edina
February 2025 — In an interview with Invest:, Shelly Loberg, president of the Edina Chamber of Commerce and Explore Edina, highlighted how upscale retail and medical services are driving Edina’s economic vitality. Loberg also outlined strategic partnerships supporting redevelopment, and underlined the need to address challenges like housing affordability.
Reflecting on the past year, what have been the main highlights and key milestones for Explore Edina?
What differentiates us from other chambers is that we are both a chamber of commerce and a visitors bureau. Explore Edina is a program of the Edina Chamber of Commerce, and we are contracted with the city to host the Visitor Bureau for promoting the city’s tourism assets.
Over the last year, we faced both challenges and highlights. One significant challenge was the numerous construction projects around Edina, which impacted accessibility for visitors and locals to access businesses. To address this, we collaborated with the local government and the 50th & France Business Association. We supported them significantly in 2024, providing marketing grants and programs to ensure the business community messaging remained visible.
What are the main measures or initiatives in place to attract business investment and tourism to Edina?
On the chamber side, our mission is to promote and connect the business community. We host networking events to foster relationships, and we also administer large community events. For instance, we organize a significant social event, provide programming for female leaders in the community, and the largest event we execute in partnership with the city and the Edina Crime Prevention Fund is the Edina Fall into the Arts Festival at Centennial Lakes Park in September. This is a community-oriented event that supports arts programming, the park, the Chamber of Commerce and safety programs of our local police department.
The festival is hosted at Centennial Lakes Park, a unique business and recreational district developed in the 1980s. The park features a professionally designed putting course, paddle boats, paved walking paths, and beautiful landscaping. Explore Edina handles all the marketing for the event, while the chamber manages logistics, sponsorships and artist participation.
What makes Edina an ideal place to live, work, and do business, and what are the main attractions that the region has to offer?
Edina is a first-ring suburb with excellent centrality in the Twin Cities area. It is close to the airport, located off I-494, and borders Minneapolis, making downtown easily accessible. Additionally, we have outstanding lodging partners, (the Westin Edina Galleria and the Hilton Homewood Suites Edina), unique city owned attractions like Braemar Golf Course and Edinborough Park and the Edina Aquatic Center. What sets Edina apart is the strong partnerships existing between the chamber, other community organizations like the 50th & France Association and city government. These entities collaborate closely, and it is a level of connectivity I have not seen in other communities where I have lived or worked.
One of Edina’s greatest attractions is the vibrant and diverse retail environment. Notably, we have Southdale Center, the first enclosed mall in the nation, the upscale Galleria mall and the 50th & France district, which serves as our scenic downtown and is filled with unique shops. Edina also boasts a unique home furnishings and design environment with brands like Crate & Barrel, Design Within Reach, and Room & Board.
How do you work with city, county, and state officials to achieve both chamber and tourism goals?
For tourism, we focus on leisure visitors, using lodging tax dollars to promote Edina’s assets, particularly the retail community. Our retail sector is a standout feature compared to other suburbs and even compared to Minneapolis and St. Paul. Southdale Center, Galleria and 50th & France have all undergone significant development, attracting high-end retail brands and transportation upgrades. We stay in touch with county and city officials when development occurs so that we can actively communicate everything that is occurring to the business community.
What are the main industries and sectors driving growth from your perspective?
Medical services and mixed use development are a significant driver of growth in Edina. We are home to M Health Fairview Southdale, a regional medical center renowned for its emergency care and cardiac outcomes. Other key providers include Twin Cities Orthopedics, Children’s Hospital, and Allina all have prominent visibility here. Edina also boasts a robust array of well-being providers, such as chiropractors, plastic surgeons, pain management and mental health professionals. This makes Edina a hub for health and wellness, further solidifying its economic opportunities and community appeal.
What are the main challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining visitors to Edina?
I would say that the challenges in Edina are primarily redevelopment challenges because this is a fully developed community. We have areas of the city that have aged, and those areas are being reimagined. The challenge that I see, particularly as the Edina Chamber of Commerce president, is the community’s adjustment to density. This adjustment relates to both people coming into the community to live and the fact that over 40,000 people come to work here every day.
For example, I am one of those individuals. I do not live in Edina, but I spend most of my resources here. I work here and enjoy many activities here. One of the ongoing challenges is housing that is attainable for the working class. Edina is considered an affluent community with a highly rated school district, which is ranked in the Top 5 in the nation. This reputation tends to attract high-end executives who work elsewhere in the Metro Area. The community’s adjustments to development and redevelopment, as well as becoming increasingly dense, affect both the residential and business communities significantly.
What is your overview of the state of the tourism industry in Edina, and what are some of the opportunities in the industry?
Our two signature events in the community are art-based. The first is the Edina Art Fair, which takes place during the first weekend of June in our 50th & France District. This event has been running for nearly 60 years. The second is an art festival at Centennial Lakes Park and 7601 France Ave called the Edina Fall into the Arts Festival and is annually held the weekend after Labor Day. These events drive visitors to the city, promote local business sponsors and highlight many regional artists.
Our central location in the Twin Cities is an advantage. When visitors come to this vibrant metro area, they do not just visit one community. They often go to the Mall of America and to downtown Minneapolis, or St. Paul to take in theatre, professional sports or concerts. Edina’s centrality, along with its vibrant medical, retail, and hospitality sectors, allows visitors to stay just outside Minneapolis and St. Paul while still accessing excellent amenities. At the same time, they can easily explore the broader Twin Cities region and all of its offerings.
What strategic benefits or advantages do local businesses gain by joining the chamber?
For new business owners who may not know anyone, the Edina Chamber of Commerce provides valuable connections. Our internal email list reaches over 12,200 people weekly. We host signature events as well as more intimate gatherings, such as networking breakfasts, where our members can present and share their operations. These events allow businesses to learn about each other and find ways to support one another in the community.
The chamber offers opportunities for connection. From there, it depends on how members invest their time and energy to make the most of their membership. Being both a chamber and a visitors’ bureau is a unique advantage for us. We handle business connections while also marketing the city’s assets. This dual role positions us as the marketing engine for Edina, helping to draw more people regionally. In the big picture of economic vitality, this benefits all businesses, whether they are service-oriented or tourism-related.
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