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An Industrial Park on the East Side of Ames Is About to Take Shape

Ames Economic Development Commission

More than 700 acres on the east side of Ames is opening up for development as an industrial park. City leaders hope to attract some large-scale manufacturing operations.

The Ames Economic Development Commission and Alliant Energy are jointly working to develop the mostly farm land east of I-35 and north of Highway 30 stretching to the Nevada city limits. The 730 acres will be broken into five lots and sell for $25,000 an acre. The president of the economic development commission, Dan Culhane, says easy access to the interstate and rail lines makes the area attractive.

“I think we see advanced manufacturing, we see bio-renewable opportunities out there, a wide variety of industries that would be well-suited out there,” he says.

Culhane, says he’s in the early stages of recruiting manufacturers and distributors to the area.

“The sewer and water won’t be extended until sometime in ’18, but the size and scale of the facilities that will likely go out here, those will take 18-to-24 months to build anyway, and so we’re actively marketing,” he says.

Culhane says the infrastructure for natural gas delivery to the area is already in place. The park will be known as the Prairie View Industrial Center.