The private sector in Johnson County has taken a back seat to the successes in Cedar Rapids and Linn County over the past several years.
Johnson County stalwarts like ACT, Pearson and the Mercy Iowa City have all dwindled or ceased operations altogether.
But a recent spate of economic wins in the county, specifically within Coralville, have caught our attention.
CIVCO Medical Solutions celebrated the company’s new headquarters in Coralville.
The 96,000-square-foot facility brings CIVCO’s corporate and manufacturing departments under one roof at 750 Lois Ln. The company’s corporate headquarters were previously located at 2301 Jones Blvd., and its manufacturing facility at 102 First St. in Kalona.
Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham praised CIVCO’s innovation, calling the new facility a representation of Iowa’s future in the bioscience sector.
“It’s a sector that we see incredible potential for job creation, for technology advancement and for global competitiveness,” Ms. Durham said. “Companies like CIVCO are at the forefront of this movement, helping to turn our state’s legacy of manufacturing into (a) forward-looking engine of innovation.”
Another Coralville biotech company, Integrated DNA Technologies, celebrated a significant milestone. It partnered with Aldevron to successfully manufacture the world’s first personalized CRISPR gene-editing drug product to treat an infant suffering from a rare and life-threatening genetic condition known as urea cycle disorder (UCD), according to a CBJ article.
The work sets a powerful precedent for the future of personalized genetic medicine, said Sandy Ottensmann, vice president and general manager of Gene Writing and Editing at IDT.
“What we’ve accomplished together sets a new gold standard for operationalizing the future of medicine,” she said. “This collaboration shows how academic and industry partnerships can deliver major scientific advances and real solutions for patients.”
And now the former Pearson campus on North Dodge Street in Iowa City is getting a much-needed makeover and a second chance.
A commercial real estate development company from Bettendorf, Geifman Group, bought the 40-acre property at 2510 N. Dodge St. for $4.2 million in May, $5.7 million below its assessed value, according to a CBJ article.
“This is the premier office space in Iowa City, from exterior to interior,” said Ed O’Conner, vice president of operations at Geifman Group.
“We want this to be a bright spot for Iowa City coming off the interstate. We want to have better signage, just visibility. And then, of course, the aesthetics for (the) facade,” Mr. O’Connor added.
The buildings have been empty since Pearson closed its Iowa City office in 2022.
The property currently houses a 37,500-square-foot warehouse, two office buildings totaling 255,000 square feet and a 20,550-square-foot data center. Iowa City assessor records indicate the property’s value at $9.9 million, nearly half its 2020 assessed value.
We welcome this spate of positive private sector news in Johnson County and hope for more to come.
