Baker Group plans to expand its facility in Ankeny and add 100 high-paying jobs to meet growing client demand, according to a development agreement that will be considered by the Ankeny City Council tonight.

The city council will vote on a development agreement with the multi-discipline construction company for a 37,500 square-foot expansion of its headquarters and manufacturing facility at 1600 Corporate Woods Drive. 

According to the development agreement, Baker plans to invest about $11 million in the project, with the city agreeing to provide a property tax rebate equal to 90% of Tax Increment Financing eligible amount of property taxes paid on the value of the improvements, not to exceed $650,000 over 6 ½ years.

The jobs that will be created will pay $48.44 per hour or more.

Construction is expected to begin this summer with completion set for 2027, the development agreement states.

The expansion will be on the east side of the current building.

“This expansion positions us to continue creating career opportunities in Iowa across engineering project management and support roles that our clients demand,” Mark Zimmerman, senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer at Baker, said ahead of the council meeting. “It also enhances our ability to train and develop interns and early career professionals.”

He said the expansion will primarily provide space for project management, engineering and some collaborative spaces for training and meeting space.

The increasing demand is coming from clients across all sectors of Baker’s business, Zimmerman said. 

“We’re seeing growth with all of our customers, this just allows us to better serve their needs,” he said. “It isn’t any one particular customer or one sector. It’s across the board.”

Zimmerman said Baker’s focus “has always been on long-term, sustainable growth.”

“So, this investment supports that long-term strategy and to develop our employees while reinforcing our commitment to Central Iowa,” he said.

Baker Group built its Ankeny campus in 2016. The current building consists of about 60,000-square-feet of office space and 80,000-square-feet of manufacturing space.

Derek Lord, economic development director for the city of Ankeny, said it’s anticipated Baker will be eligible for some industrial tax credits through Polk County for the project.

“It’s a nice project for the community and it’s great that they had the foresight to acquire additional land when they moved to Ankeny,” Lord said. 

Baker Group currently employs more than 1,300 people with 500 employees at its main campus in Ankeny. The company also has offices in Cedar Rapids, Fort Dodge, Davenport, Louisville, Ky., and Kansas City, Mo.

“We’re always competing for capital here in Central Iowa, so we’re just excited that they chose to invest and grow in Ankeny and create these jobs here at home,” Lord said.

The Baker expansion further strengthens Ankeny’s position as a “regional business center,” attracting more employees to the community for jobs than people leaving Ankeny for jobs, he said.

“This expansion gives Ankeny residents more opportunities to both live and work in our community, reduces commute times and enhances quality of life,” Lord said.

Zimmerman said Ankeny was an easy choice for the expansion.

“We believe we’re better together as a company, so being all under one roof is important to us and it gives us better team interaction and collaboration,” he said. “That was a priority for this project.”