City Property Certified 'Development-Ready'

Nov. 6, 2017 -- For Immediate Release

CONTACT:
Maurice Jones
Economic Development Director
563.589.4393, mjones@cityofdubuque.org 

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) announced that a “development-ready” site near Dubuque’s Industrial Center West is the latest industrial site to achieve certification through the Iowa Certified Sites Program. It joins 18 other sites in the state that have been designated as project-ready.

The City-owned property consists of six parcels covering 163 total acres, of which 103 acres are developable.  Located adjacent to the existing Dubuque Industrial Center West, the property lies north of Chavenelle Road, west of Radford Road, and south of Pennsylvania Avenue. It was purchased by the City in 2015 and is known as the Dubuque Industrial Center-McFadden site because it was formerly part of the McFadden family farm.

“This designation will be helpful in marketing the property, especially to companies looking for sites that are relatively risk-free,” said City of Dubuque Economic Development Director Maurice Jones.  “The certification process is rigorous, which is evident in the fact that only 19 sites statewide are designated thus far.”

In an effort to address the lack of project-ready industrial sites in Iowa, the IEDA launched the Iowa Certified Sites Program in 2012. It is an independent, third-party certification program that uses the nationally recognized site selection firm of McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC) as the sole certifying agent. The Iowa Certified Sites Program is designed to consider a combination of national site location standards as well as Iowa’s natural assets and industry needs of the state’s targeted sectors. 

“Iowa is improving its competitive position in the world of site selection,” said Debi Durham, director of the IEDA. “Having such a robust array of development-ready sites gives us an edge in terms of attracting companies to the state.” 

Site certification is one of the fastest growing trends in the site selection business and by introducing certified sites to the market, Iowa is better able to compete for large scale projects. By going through this rigorous process, developers -- working closely with their local officials, utility partners and consultants -- are better prepared to market their sites with specific site-related information and community data. All site due diligence is completed and resulting issues are mitigated, making the site “risk-free” and, thus, accelerating the development schedule.

For more information about the Iowa Certified Sites Program, visit www.iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/SiteLocation/CertifiedSite.

A map of the Dubuque Industrial Center West – McFadden Properties is available at http://cityofdubuque.org/DocumentCenter/View/34959.


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