Merchants Bonding Co. plans to expand its national headquarters in West Des Moines to meet the growth the company is seeing nationwide and to accommodate the addition of employees in Iowa, the company announced Thursday.

Merchants Bonding Co.’s home office at 6700 Westown Parkway has grown from about 116 employees when it was built in 2015 to 160 today, and it plans to hire at least 35 workers over the next three years in information technology, underwriting, marketing and finance.

The surety company has more than 30 satellite offices nationwide.

“Our growth has been steady and strategic, and this expansion ensures we have the space and infrastructure to support our continued momentum,” Larry Taylor, chairman of the board and company president, said in a news release. “West Des Moines and regional economic development partners have been vital in helping us attract and retain top talent, and we look forward to continuing that partnership as we grow.”

Groundbreaking on the 34,000-square-foot three-story expansion is expected in late summer.

A staff report from the city of West Des Moines’ City Council Finance and Administration Subcommittee, said the addition represents a $25 million investment by the company.

No public improvements are proposed as part of the project, the report stated.

The city plans to create a new urban renewal area and has negotiated financial assistance in the form of a five-year 100% property tax rebate not to exceed $900,000.

Merchants Bonding will also be submitting an application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority for assistance through the state’s High Quality Jobs Program, the report stated.

The creation of the urban renewal area and the IEDA application  will be considered by the West Des Moines City Council at its June 2 meeting, said Ryan Moffatt, the city’s community and economic development director.

Once the urban renewal area is approved, the city will negotiate terms of the development agreement, he said.

Moffatt said “it’s good to be able to keep companies in your own backyard and continue to grow,” at a time when development activity is slowed.

“We do what we can to support that and it’s good to see companies return their staff back to the office, and I think this is an example of once they do come back to the office, and if they are a growing company, they’re figuring out that they need to do things to bring their staff in and have it be a quality workplace,” Moffatt said in an interview with the Business Record. “I think some of the amenities this company will put in this building will reflect that.”