The city of Des Moines could turn over the title to nearly 42 acres of property that has defied development efforts, as part of an incentive package for the expansion of Electrical Power Products (EP2).

EP2, a company that produces equipment used to manage power generation, transmission and distribution, wants to relocate its Des Moines operations to a parcel of land near Southeast 43rd Street and Vandalia Road in the city’s Southeast Agrimergent Technology Park.

City staff have proposed an economic development package in which EP2 would pay $1.26 million for the land, with the city returning that amount to the company. In addition, city would return 50 percent of the assessed value of improvements of the property over 17 years.

A staff report estimates the value of tax increment financing at $4.5 million.

EP2, a business that falls under the umbrella of Britt Baker’s Electro Management Corp., plans an $18 million building of 180,000 to 225,000 square feet, where the company would relocate about 300 employees from its Hull Avenue headquarters for the last 25 years. The company also could develop another similar-sized building in the future.

Previous efforts to find a developer for the land have been complicated by fears about flooding and stormwater drainage. A deal to sell nearly 166 acres to local developer Dave Walters for construction of an ethanol plant fell apart in 2009 as the result of dropping ethanol prices, rising corn prices and the collapse of financial markets.

Since that time, the city has worked with egg producers, a company that wanted to produce soy sauce, as well as other alternative fuels producers. Time after time, the deals fell apart over concerns about whether the Des Moines River levees in the area could be breached.

The levees are set to be fortified sometime in the next decade.

EP2 wants to raise the height of its development site as the result of similar concerns. The cost of moving soil from within the development district is estimated at $3.3 million. The cost to haul the soil in from off site is estimated at $4.5 million.

Meanwhile, the city is considering offers to develop an additional 30 acres near Southeast 43rd and Vandalia, and Helena Industries, which has completed an expansion further west of the proposed EP2 site, also is considering additional development in the area.

“We’re very excited by the planned investment, especially by existing Des Moines companies, said city planner Rita Conner.