The city of Ames has been awarded $1.5 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to extend water and sanitary sewer to the new 1,300-acre Prairie View Industrial Center on the city’s east side. The grant, from the department’s Economic Development Administration, will be matched with $3.8 million in local funds and is expected to generate $30 million in private investment. In a news release, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the investment will attract new businesses and allow existing ones to expand to create a more diverse regional economy. Dan Culhane, president and CEO of the Ames Chamber of Commerce, said the Prairie View Industrial Center’s location makes it ideal for the expansion of both domestic and international industry. “The proximity of I-35, U.S. Highway 30, rail service, and bookended by Italy-based Barilla on the west and the Germany-based Verbio on the east, we feel like this is a very logical place for new and expanding industry, both domestic and international,” Culhane said in an emailed statement. The development of the site is a partnership among the Ames Economic Development Commission, Alliant Energy, the city of Ames and the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which Culhane said “is imperative for this major industrial endeavor to come to fruition.”