Two industrial parks in northeast Iowa are among the highest rated so-called shovel-ready properties in North America.
Site Selectors Guild, which helps communities attract developers, ranked industrial parks in Waterloo and Cedar Falls among the top six on the continent.
Lisa Skubal leads economic development for the Cedar Valley’s Chamber of Commerce. She says the designation comes after years of effort to attract businesses to the region.
“I think it comes down to setting the table for the next development,” Skubal says. “We don’t know when that is going to happen. We hope it happens today, tomorrow, the next day, next week, next month, but when it happens, we’re ready to go.”
Skubal says companies increasingly look for land which can be developed quickly. She says competition for investment has grown fierce.
“In the 90s, you know, if you had a farm field and you had a farmer who was willing to sell it, you were in,” Skubal says, “but nowadays, if you don’t have this due diligence done, you’re not even going to get a look at.”
The sites offer nearly 400 acres of undeveloped land. Possible uses include advanced manufacturing, food processing, or biotech.
A data center project is considering the site in Waterloo, a move that’s sparked local opposition
(By Gavin McGough, Iowa Public Radio)