Economic development officials in Cedar Rapids are preparing a plot of land on the city’s southwest side for a future industrial park. They say the site has the potential to become the state’s biggest certified location for large-scale industries.
The 1,300-acre site will be known as the Big Cedar Industrial Center. It will sit near rail lines, an interstate highway and the Eastern Iowa Airport. Negotiations are underway with nearby landowners to secure the property. An economic development strategist with the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Brian Crowe, says officials will begin recruiting large international industries to locate on the property.
“Any company that has the need for robust utility infrastructure," he says. "Certainly, electrical and gas, water and wastewater.”
Crowe says the park should be a boost for the surrounding area.
“I think it will be a big opportunity for the entire region, having something of this size and magnitude," he says. "Nothing else of this size exists in the state.”
Power company Alliant Energy is laying the utility grid for the location.