The first mixed-use office building in the Middlebrook community in Cumming was recently completed with its anchor being the new headquarters for Peoples Co.

Peoples and its 75 team members who work out of the corporate headquarters began occupying their new space this month, according to a news release from Diligent Development.

Peoples, which offers brokerage, appraisal, land and energy management and capital markets for the agricultural industry, will occupy about 75% of the building at 1108 S. 44th St.

“Peoples Company has realized tremendous growth over the past five years, expanding our footprint nationally to 25 offices, diversifying our service offerings, and becoming a national leader in integrated land solutions,” Steve Bruere, president of Peoples Co., said in the release. “As we grew, we began exploring options for a larger headquarters and made it a priority to select a site that matched our brand and agricultural roots. Middlebrook was the logical fit and we’re excited to anchor the new Town Center.”

The 800-acre master planned community is still at its early stage of development but already offers entry-level cottage homes, apartments, townhomes and single-family homes. It now has two mixed-use buildings with other tenants including Reese Marie Salon, The Farmstand by Manastash Mercantile Boutique and Cups & Cones Ice Cream.

A LiveWork project offering mixed-use townhomes is under construction across the street from Peoples’ offices, and Diligent Development plans to break ground on a fourth mixed-use building with 32 more residences and 7,000-square-feet of ground floor commercial space later this year, the release said.

According to the release, Peoples left its office in Clive to return to Warren County, where it was founded more than 50 years ago, and Diligent Development’s Middlebrook community was a perfect fit, said Tim Portzen, vice president of Diligent.

“The stars really aligned for Peoples Company to become the first anchor tenant of Middlebrook Town Center, and we can’t think of a better fit,” Portzen said. “Middlebrook kicked off its Town Center development with multi-story mixed-use buildings like you’d see in Winterset, Dyersville, Decorah, Spencer and many rural hubs in Iowa – the kind of places Peoples Company regularly works in. For a national operation like Peoples Company, Middlebrook offers the best of both worlds: a metro location with easy access, and the character that many of their employees and clients grew up in.”