Engineers play key role in economic health, development of our communities

When businesses look to relocate or branch out, they might be drawn to places with natural attractions like mountains or warm weather, or large metropolitan areas with cultural amenities.

So what can a place like Eastern Iowa do to draw in these employers and developers?

“We have to differentiate to compete against market realities,” said Nick Hatz, managing director of Shive-Hattery’s Cedar Rapids office and a civil engineer. “It comes down to like an arms race of making it as easy as possible for them to make your case and make it easy for people to say yes.”

The more prepared a community is to welcome employers, the more likely they are to be chosen for investment. Part of this preparation involves the work of engineers.

Getting potential building sites certified is one example. While a community might have several parcels of land available, an engineer will help determine the sites’ feasibility for building: Is there enough utility infrastructure? Are there any environmentally sensitive features such as wetlands or floodplains? Are there any sensitive issues like historical features or environmental hazards like brownfields?

Nick Hatz, civil engineer and managing director of Shive-Hattery’s Cedar Rapids office. Photo courtesy of Shive-Hattery.

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Once this due diligence is done, the site gets reviewed by an independent agency and then put on the Iowa Economic Development Authority website, which prospective developers can then peruse.

Cities can also make building sites “shovel-ready” — meaning they are certified and have stubbed utilities to it so that they are ready to build on.

“Oftentimes ‘speed of market’ is a decision that the company makes. So if you’re a community where all that work is done, that puts you head and shoulders above other communities,” said Ron Corbett, vice president of economic development for Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance.

Shive-Hattery had certified a site in Bondurant and was in the process of certifying one in Davenport, which led to retail behemoth Amazon choosing both sites for building massive distribution centers.

“That’s a really good example of where the city was proactive about doing a certified site process,” Hatz said.

Cities can have certified sites of all sizes. If the area is large, engineers can also help map out what type of business would work best on each individual lot so that a city knows how to market that site to potential employers.

“Why would employers spend time picking any parcel in our neck of the woods if you’re not going to do the legwork for them and be intentional about what you want there?” Hatz said.

Hiring an engineering firm to get potential building sites ready for development takes an upfront investment on the part of communities or their economic development groups, but many times it becomes the deciding factor for an employer.

“If you’re not going to put enough skin in the game, your chances of an outside investor or developer or employer picking you over a litany of other opportunities and more aggressive communities is just really slim,” Hatz said.

Why new business is important

Attracting new companies to the community creates more jobs, brings in more tax revenue and helps diversify the area’s economy. It also adds momentum, with other businesses taking a closer look at what your community has to offer.

Corbett says there are two directions a town can go — if it stops growing, this causes a negative downward spiral where people start leaving town, forcing existing businesses to close.

“Or you can focus on growing your community. Cedar Rapids and the Corridor have really focused on growth, and you can see it every day as people are driving around and new things are popping up. People like to see that activity,” he said.

An aerial view of Amazon's fulfillment center in Bondurant, Iowa, the first in the state. Shive-Hattery certified this site, which shaved nearly one full year off its standard process of site selection and review. Photo courtesy of Shive-Hattery.

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In order to sustain that growth, cities need to stay ahead of the curve in providing the types of infrastructure necessary so that residents don’t get frustrated.

“All of the infrastructure — whether it’s water, wastewater, electric, gas, roads — engineering firms are all involved with that. They play a critical role in the overall economic health of our communities,” Corbett said.

Who’s coming to town

While market trends have been moving toward solar panel, electric vehicle and chip manufacturing, Corbett sees biotechnology as being a big opportunity not only for Cedar Rapids but all of Iowa.

“I think our future is very bright when it comes to bio because we have an advantage being at the front end of the production,” Corbett said.

Over the past decade, Shive-Hattery’s Hatz has seen communities in the Corridor become more intentional about creating destination spots. For example, the Iowa River Landing in Coralville and Uptown Marion developments both attracted high-quality, diverse businesses that helped the cities differentiate themselves.

“We look at, how can we as architects and engineers help our local communities do all the same things that the economic development groups and cities are trying to do,” Hatz said. “How do we make it as easy as possible for a prospective employer or developer to say yes to our community over the thousands of opportunities that they have everywhere else?”

Growing existing businesses

On the flip side of the economic development coin is helping grow existing businesses in the community. Corbett said the local engineering community is critical to supporting area businesses as they look to grow and expand. According to Corbett, several Corridor businesses have planned additions and expansions, including Collins Aerospace, International Paper, Conveyor Engineering, Lil’ Drug Store and Altorfer.

“All these companies, whether they’re large like Collins Aerospace and International Paper, or smaller, locally family-owned companies, all need the services of engineering firms,” Corbett said.

Everything that gets constructed — from retail stores to schools to single-family homes — goes through a development process, and civil, electrical, mechanical and structural engineers play a large part in that process.

While sometimes it’s the city or economic development group that contacts the engineering firm, other times it’s the companies themselves who solicit engineers to help with their site selection process. Engineers can help them understand the pros and cons of various sites and help them navigate local issues.

“In Cedar Rapids, we have some strong legacy engineering firms, some that have international reputations and certainly national reputations,” Corbett said. “We’re really proud of our engineering community, and they’ve played a critical role in the growth of not just Cedar Rapids but all of Eastern Iowa.”