Design Engineers, a regional engineering firm headquartered in Cedar Rapids, is opening an office in Ankeny’s Prairie Trail development.

The Ankeny office will be led by Adam Bunnell, an associate principal and senior mechanical engineer with Design Engineers. Bunnell has worked for Design Engineers for nearly 20 years. He has played a key role in expanding the company’s services in Central Iowa and the Midwest, according to a news release.

“We’ve seen incredible growth at DE over the past several years and one of the themes we’ve embraced is to ‘grow and do better,’” Bunnell said in a news release. “Establishing a dedicated presence in Central Iowa allows us to further enable our client architects and building owners to do great things.”

Design Engineers’ new office opens on Friday in District #7, a new mixed-use building at 1535 S.W. Market St. The firm, which also has an office in Madison, Wis., employs more than 70 people.  

Bunnell said the company hopes to tap into the talent pool at Iowa State University to help with the company’s expansion.

“We were very intentional with our location,” he said. “Ankeny was a perfect middle ground between ISU students and many of our client architects in downtown Des Moines.”

Design Engineers, founded in 1983, has been part of several projects in Central Iowa including the Wellabe headquarters, Ames High School, Ankeny Kirkendall Library, and numerous Iowa State University projects, including the new LEED Gold Therkildsen Industrial Engineering Building.

The firm is part of new construction projects including the Des Moines Fire Station No. 4, Reichardt Community Recreation Center, and Goldfinch Lofts, poised to be the first Zero Carbon Certified federal housing tax credit project in the country.