Iowa City, Iowa's industrial park, known as the Wind Energy Supply Chain Campus, has achieved "shovel ready" status, a designation created by Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD) that aims to reduce the risk for local communities and property owners as well as companies researching Iowa's Creative Corridor for business location or expansion.
The goal of the program is to create an inventory of available sites that are fully served and ready for immediate development. The program is available in Linn, Johnson, Jones, Benton, Iowa, Cedar and Washington counties.
This is the third regional site to be certified in the past two years. The Tipton Business Park and three sites at the University of Iowa Research Park were the first to receive shovel-ready status.
According to ICAD, the industrial park’s proximity to rail, the city’s investment in infrastructure and the city’s growth strategy align this industrial park with the tight project timelines typical of today’s manufacturers.
“We’ve been working with Austin Consulting and the City of Iowa City for several years to obtain this certification,” explains Mark Nolte, ICAD group interim president. “Since announcing its application, we have seen more interest in the park from manufacturing companies in wind energy and other industries. We look forward to sharing this official announcement with these potential projects.”
