The people of Cedar Falls, in northern Iowa, had great reason to celebrate in recent months. After all, a major manufacturing facility project was coming to the area. Not just any project, mind you, but the largest single commercial or manufacturing building project there in 20 years.

Target Corp., popularly known for its red and white logo, selected a 133-acre site in Cedar Falls for its new distribution warehouse. Nearly 900 people are expected to eventually work at the 1.35 million square foot merchandise distribution center by the spring of 2003.

Excellent highway access, the work force and quality of life factors were all cited as advantages of the Cedar Falls location. Target stores in Iowa and surrounding sites will receive merchandise from the Cedar Falls warehouse.

Target's manufacturing project represents an investment of about $97 million for the community. The company, which is the fourth-largest general merchandise retailer in the country, currently has 19 distribution centers throughout the country, serving 1,200 stores in 46 states.

Iowa's central location fuels warehouse investments

Target is just one of several companies to capitalize on the inherent advantages of Iowa's strategic central location.

Earlier in the year, Wal-Mart invested $30 million to expand its distribution center in Mount Pleasant, in southeast Iowa, to 1.3 million square feet. And in Maquoketa, Family Dollar Stores is creating up to 300 jobs with its new 940,000 square foot distribution center.

In addition, McGraw-Hill Co. revealed expansion plans for a 330,000 square foot warehouse and distribution complex in Iowa's oldest city. The company will set up operations in Dubuque's Industrial Center West Business Park.

The project, which is expected to be operational by July, will allow the company to consolidate its current Dubuque operations.

"We have multiple warehouses right now in the area," Gary Salters, senior vice president of order fulfillment services for McGraw-Hill, told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. "We have inventory spread out and to service our customers better we need to get back to one location."

Revitalization on the River

An extensive downtown revitalization plan is taking shape in the Quad Cities along the banks of the Mississippi River. The community of Davenport is upgrading its cultural and industrial opportunities by undertaking a $100 million project that will entail a downtown facelift, a new site-ready business park, and construction of a training facility in the park. The riverfront project has been dubbed the "River Renaissance on the Mississippi."

Construction for the project began in fall 2001 and is expected to continue for two to three years. The River Renaissance, which will bring more people, jobs and investment to Davenport, represents the most significant public-private partnership in the community's history.