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Fort Dodge, Iowa Falls now with “shovel ready” development sites; MC not on list

Mayor Eric Bookmeyer and the city council – along with the North Iowa Corridor – have failed to produce a developable “shovel-ready” site in Mason City, despite that being a goal for years.

DES MOINES – Today, Governor Terry Branstad and Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds announced the first four industrial sites to achieve certification through the Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) certified site program. These four sites are located in the communities of Fort Dodge, Iowa Falls, Van Meter and Dexter.

Mason City did not make the list.  Developing a “shovel-ready” site in Mason City has been a city council and North Iowa Corridor priority or goal for years.

Earlier this year, Branstad announced that the cities of Burlington, Muscatine, Spirit Lake, Spencer, Marshalltown and Ottumwa were the top towns in Iowa that are best suited for economic expansion and continued growth.  Mason City was left off that list, too.

In an effort to address the lack of project-ready industrial sites in the state, the IEDA rolled out the Iowa Certified Site Program in May 2012. This is an independent, third-party certification program that uses the nationally recognized site selection firm of McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) as the sole certifying agent. The Iowa Certified Site Program is designed to consider a combination of national site location standards as well as Iowa’s natural assets and industry needs of the state’s targeted sectors.

“Creating jobs and increasing family incomes for Iowans is my administration’s top priority,” said Gov. Branstad. “With the announcement that four Iowa sites have gone through a rigorous certification process to be considered ‘development-ready,’ we are moving Iowa to the top of the list for projects that are looking for a home. Those projects mean more Iowa jobs.”

“Hats off to Fort Dodge, Van Meter, Dexter and Iowa Falls for dedicating nearly two year to this process,” said Lt. Gov. Reynolds. “Though our administration works tirelessly to attract businesses and jobs to our state, Governor Branstad and I know the final sale is made at the local level. I commend these Iowa communities for time well spent that will pay dividends locally and for our state as a whole.”

Site certification is one of the fastest growing trends in the site selection business, and by introducing certified sites to the market Iowa is better able to compete for large scale projects. By going through this rigorous process, developers — working closely with their local officials, utility partners and consultants — are better prepared to market their sites with specific site-related information and community data. All site due diligence is completed and resulting issues are mitigated, making the site “risk-free” and thus accelerating the development schedule.

“Iowa is improving its competitive position in the world of site selection by certifying these four industrial sites,” said Debi Durham, director of the IEDA. “These are four great sites to kick-off Iowa’s Certified Sites Program. We are looking forward to seeing many more sites around the state achieve this important designation.”

The four sites certified today were among the eight applicants in the first round kicked off in May 2012. After working through the rigorous certification process, these four sites have met the standards of the Iowa Certified Site Program and have now achieved that designation. Details on Iowa’s Certified Sites are below:

The Webster County Ag Center, Fort Dodge
Developable Acres: 447 acres
Zoning: Ag/Industrial
Proximity to interstate: 5 miles
Rail Access: Yes
Organization: Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance

Van Meter Vision Park, Van Meter
Developable Acres: 288 acres
Zoning: Agriculture
Proximity to interstate: 2.5 miles
Rail Access: No
Organization: Greater Dallas County Development Alliance

Metro West Interstate and Rail Park, Dexter
Developable Acres: 255 acres
Zoning: Industrial Park
Proximity to interstate: .25 miles
Rail Access: Yes
Organization: Greater Dallas County Development Alliance

Iowa Falls/Hardin County Industrial Park, Iowa Falls
Developable Acres: 245.97 acres
Zoning: Agriculture
Proximity to interstate: 5.1 miles
Rail Access: Yes — Dual
Organization: Iowa Falls Area Development Corporation

Three subsequent application rounds have been opened since the program was established and 15 additional sites are currently working their way through various phases of the program. The next round of applications will be accepted in July for the following categories:

General Industrial Site — 50 – 249 contiguous acres
Large Site — 250 – 499 contiguous acres
Super Site — 500 – 999 contiguous acres
Mega Site — 1,000+ contiguous acres
General Industrial Park — 100+ acres with one site ≥ 50 acres
Super Park — 500+ acres with one site ≥ 250 acres

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