Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) and Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Debi Durham joined officials from the City of Cedar Falls to celebrate the site certification of the West Viking Road Industrial Park during a ribbon-cutting celebration on December 6, 2022. The site, which had been officially named a certified site on October 1, joins 28 other sites in the state which are currently designated as project-ready.
"Iowa improves its competitive advantage with each site that attains certification," said Director Durham. "Companies exploring expansion or new operations often do not have the luxury of dedicating substantial amounts of time to the site location process. Having a site where all the development questions have been asked and answered demonstrates that the community is open for business and prepared to welcome new investment. I applaud communities like Cedar Falls that undertake this rigorous process and know that the accomplishments will ultimately pay dividends in jobs and economic prosperity for the state."
The West Viking site is just shy of 200 acres with lots ranging from two to 15-plus acres. It is wholly owned by the City of Cedar Falls. The site's location, adjacent to a second established city-owned industrial property and next to U.S. Highway 20 and the Waterloo Regional Airport, positions it to easily serve a variety of businesses including light industrial, logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing.
"Our first Certified Site designation puts a global spotlight on the Cedar Falls Industrial Parks, and we're eager to welcome a new major manufacturing operation into our wonderful community," said Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green. "Thanks to our talented city and utility staffs and our state partners at IEDA for making this happen!"
The IEDA Certified Sites Program, launched in 2012, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary and continues to be one of the most robust and effective certification programs in the nation. The program was created to address the lack of project-ready industrial sites in the state. It is an independent, third-party certification program that uses the nationally recognized site selection firm, Quest Site Solutions as the certifying agent. Iowa's rigorous certification process is designed to consider national site location standards, as well as Iowa's natural assets and the needs of the state's targeted industry sectors of advanced manufacturing, biosciences and finance, and insurance.
Site certification remains one of the most important factors in the site selection business, and by introducing certified sites to the market, Iowa is better able to compete for projects. Throughout the certification process developers – working closely with local officials, utility partners, and consultants – are better prepared to market their sites with specific site-related information and community data. The process also speeds up the development schedule by having due diligence completed and plans in place to mitigate any identified issues, reducing risk for companies. To date, Iowa has attracted more than $1.3 billion in capital investment due to the availability of certified sites.
In addition to the 29 certified sites, there are currently six additional sites working through the various phases of the program. For more information on Iowa's Certified Sites Program, visit iowaeda.com/locations.
To learn more about growing your business in Cedar Falls, visit www.selectcedarfallsia.com.