By Pat Shaver
Officials in Marion are moving along in the process to establish shovel-ready certification for an industrial park with more than 170 acres of available land for businesses.
The land is expected to entice current Marion businesses looking to expand or move from brownfields areas, as well as bring businesses in from outside the area, said George Lake, president of the Marion Economic Development Co. (MEDCO).
“With our industrial park, we’re ready to roll,” Mr. Lake said. “We’ve got plenty of ground available. We’re talking with a number of companies, local, domestic and international.”
Mr. Lake said one of the MEDCO board members, a Corridor developer, described it best.
“He said ‘Well boys, the fun times are over, we’re through playing in dirt with toy trucks. Now comes hard part of selling ground,’” Mr. Lake said. “And he’s absolutely right. We are just one of hundreds of industrial parks across the country that are trying to market themselves.”
Phase 1 of construction in the MEC has been mostly completed as of a few weeks ago, Mr. Lake said. He added that they have finished pouring concrete, updated roads and the sewer system, among other features. The industrial park is near Highway 151 and Marion Airport Road.
Once the pre-application is approved, they have up to one year to submit a full application.
Combined with another industrial site in Marion, there are more than 300 acres of property that are eligible for shovel-ready certification. It is just a matter of getting application done, Mr. Lake said.
Officials hope the area will be ideal for facilities like corporate offices, clinics or group medical centers, manufacturing buildings, business or trade schools, construction sales and services, warehouses, among other uses, according to the MEC web site.
Mr. Lake said he knows of at least 14 companies in Marion that are looking at doing physical business expansion.
“There are a number of Marion companies that are looking at expanding, some are going to expand at their present location and others are looking at relocating in Marion,” Mr. Lake said.
A pre-application has been submitted, Mr. Lake said. He expects the area will be through the approval process to be shovel-ready in the next few months.
“Now, instead of taking (potential businesses) to a bean field and saying, ‘Picture a new facility here in two years,’ we can say, ‘You can start construction in six weeks,’” Mr. Lake said. “That makes a world of difference.”
Achieving the certified shovel-ready designation for a site involves two factors. First, a site must have strong innate characteristics, including: configuration, location, topography, proximity to transportation and utilities for it to be viewed as a world‐class site when under consideration by corporations.
From 2008 to May 2010, under the leadership of the Iowa City Area Development Group, MEDCO worked with other regional partners to develop Iowa’s first shovel-ready certification program. The certification program has been extended to include the seven counties in the Kirkwood Community College service area, and the state is considering adopting this program for the entire state.
A shovel-ready project is considered a major advantage for prospective businesses because it reduces the risk associated with the development and construction of business facilities. It also eliminates a lot of the time consuming due diligence items since the original developer has already taken care of them.
MEDCO held a ceremony last week at the MEC to celebrate the donation of more than seven acres of land to Linn County Conservation.
The MEDCO Holding Company transferred the title of 7.2 acres of the MEC that include the former railroad right-of-way to Linn County Conservation for development the of Grant Wood Trail. Mr. Lake said the land wouldn’t be able to be used for development. The exchange will result in the expansion of the Linn County trails system.
“With the trail, as we develop the park, we have plans for a bike and hiking trail, paved trails to go throughout our park that will connect to the (Linn County) trails,” Mr. Lake said.
