Big Cedar Industrial Park, 1,391 acres developed by Alliant Energy in Cedar Rapids, has been certified by the Iowa Economic Development Authority as a “mega site,” the first property to receive the designation under the state’s Certified Site Program. IEDA rolled out the Iowa Certified Site Program in May 2012 to address the lack of project-ready industrial sites in the state. The process involves an independent, third-party certification program that uses the nationally recognized site selection firm Quest Site Solutions (formerly McCallum Sweeney Consulting) as the certifying agent, according to a release. The mega site category is only one of seven within the certification program. Sites must comprise at least 1,000 acres to qualify for “mega site” status. In addition to size, the Big Cedar Industrial Park also offers easy access to multiple modes of transportation, which is significant considering the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area exported over $1.3 billion in goods and services in 2017, according to the release. In August, the Woodward Eco Business Park was certified as the first-of-its-kind to meet “green” certification standards geared to reduce environmental impacts of business development. Development ground in Cherokee was named a certified site earlier this year.