Baker chooses Army Post Road for manufacturing facility
BPC Staff Nov 18, 2015 | 10:16 pm
1 min read time
306 wordsAll Latest News, Real Estate and DevelopmentThe city of Des Moines and Britt Baker’s Electrical Power Products Inc. (EP2) have dodged a massive earthmoving operation, one that would have raised the elevation of 40 acres of land by six feet in the city’s Southeast Agrimergent Business Park. Baker, who has worked with the city for several months to find a location for a new manufacturing and distribution plant, has settled on a location on the opposite side of town at Southwest 42nd Street and Army Post Road, where city officials plan to establish a 60-acre urban renewal area.
EP2 designs, assembles and manufactures electrical relay products. Finished assemblies are stored outside in containers. It is important to keep them high and dry, a fact that led to concerns about Des Moines River floodwaters reaching a facility that was initially planned for the ag park. The city would have hauled in soil to raise the elevation of that property.
Instead, EP2 plans an $18 million building on land in the proposed urban renewal district, according to a report to the city’s Urban Design Review Board, which considered plans and financial incentives for the project on Nov. 16. The initial city financial plan for a facility in the ag park totaled $5.6 million, including a $1.3 million rebate on the land purchase. In addition, the city would have provided the fill dirt.
The package currently under consideration totals an estimated $5 million, including $1.6 million in semiannual payments once the project is completed. Once that figure is reached, EP2 would receive semiannual payments equal to 50 percent of value of improvements on the property for 13 years. Baker also is considering a second phase to the proposed project. EP2 has outgrown its facilities at 1800 Hull Ave. With the new construction, the company plans to retain 200 jobs.
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