MIDDLE MARKET HIGHLIGHT, MAY 2007

Waterloo/Cedar Falls
Dan Marcec

Ground has been broken for the Cedar Valley Tech Works, a $50 million bio-based, agri-industrial marketplace that is being built on 40 acres at Deere & Co.’s Westfield Avenue site.

Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa, comprise the Cedar Valley region of the state. The area’s commercial real estate market has seen growth in the retail sector, particularly along San Marnan Drive and Highway 20 in Waterloo, and on Highway 58 east of the Cedar Falls Industrial Park in Cedar Falls. Industrial development is strong as well, occurring predominantly in Waterloo’s existing private and publicly owned business and industrial parks. As a general rule, the city and local companies are planning specific projects to support the growth of these developments. Some major developers in the area, just to name a few, include Cardinal Construction, Point Builders, Nooren Commercial Group and Lockard Development.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance is attempting to engender economic development in the market by attracting certain types of industry to the area. In 2004, the organization commissioned site selection firm Lockwood Greene to analyze the local commercial infrastructure in order to determine the industries most likely to succeed. Through this study, the firm concluded that the industries that offered the best probability of recruitment to the area were information solutions, advanced manufacturing and agri-based biotechnology.

“Lockwood Greene believed the Cedar Valley region already provides a strength for these industries in the local economy, and that our area fit the growth potential of these industries regionally, nationally and internationally,” says Lisa Rivera Skubal, director of marketing for the commercial and industrial development division of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance. “In addition, the niche opportunities they offer in both new product development and research and development would prove to benefit economic growth here.”

In the 2006-2007 fiscal year, three new companies have entered the market, providing significant impact to the local commercial sector. ConAgra Grocery Products has built a 200,000-square-foot space for aseptic pudding manufacturing, investing a total of $46 million to the local economy. In addition, Ferguson Satellite Center, a contractor and retail outlet, constructed an $825,000, 17,000-square-foot facility. Also, HyPro Inc., active in precision machining, now occupies 121,900 square feet after a $20 million investment.

One of the major developments to come online in the market has been the construction of the Cedar Valley TechWorks, a $50 million bio-based, agri-industrial product development and exposition marketplace. Situated on 40 acres at Deere & Co.’s Westfield Avenue site, the project will be constructed over several years. The scope of the TechWorks project includes a renovation of four Deere buildings encompassing approximately 600,000 square feet, which will begin this spring. A nonprofit group, Cedar Valley TechWorks Inc., which is comprised of various representatives of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance, Deere & Co. and the city of Waterloo, recently received a donation from Deere and will oversee the project’s development.


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