Work begins on Iowa American Water’s new $10M facility

Iowa American Water in Davenport is getting some much needed elbow room. The utility will move from its current home at 5201 Grand Ave. into a new $10 million, state-of-the-art facility next year on the city’s northwest side. “We’ve just outgrown our facility. … We’ve been converting closets into office space,” Randy Moore, president of […]

Iowa American Water in Davenport is getting some much needed elbow room. The utility will move from its current home at 5201 Grand Ave. into a new $10 million, state-of-the-art facility next year on the city’s northwest side. “We’ve just outgrown our facility. … We’ve been converting closets into office space,” Randy Moore, president of Iowa American Water, said at a brief ground-breaking ceremony Tuesday morning, Oct. 4, at the construction site. Iowa American’s new home is being built at 3409 Research Parkway. That ceremony brought together about 40 people from Iowa American Water and Bush Construction. If all goes according to schedule, the company will move into its new 41,000-square-foot facility next year. The office space part of the building is expected to be complete next summer, with a truck bay portion set for completion in late summer or fall of 2023.

In fact, work has already begun on the 38-acre site, which is located next to the John T. Blong Technology Center. Work crews were busy doing site grading work during the ground-breaking ceremony. (During the event, Bush Construction President and CEO A.J. Loss called the work the “sweet hum” of machinery.) Foundation work is expected to begin in a couple of weeks, and the building construction is scheduled to kickoff in early November, Mr. Loss added. The new facility will cost a bit more than $10 million, said Mr. Moore. “The numbers are still coming in, but it’s somewhere north of $10 million.”

Facility features

The new facility features designated spaces for both office and warehouse material handling. Management, administrative staff and service staff will all be able to collaborate under one roof in multi-functional spaces. The modern facility also includes a multi-use training room, expanded parking and a convenient wash bay within the truck bay area.  At the ceremony, Iowa American Water officials said the new, bigger facility will give the utility many advantages. For instance, the utility will be able to store all of its pipeline supplies at one site, plus have a bulk water station and room to train employees. At some point, the utility may also put a solar panel farm on the new site. But perhaps the biggest advantage of the new site is that it provides the utility with even more room to grow in the future. Mr. Moore said the new facility now under construction is exactly what Iowa American Water currently needs. However, in the future those needs may change and expand. The land available at the new site will allow the utility to make those changes. “Bush is honored to have the opportunity to strengthen our existing relationship and work alongside the team at Iowa American Water on this project,” said Mr. Loss in a news release. “Collaborating together to develop a building solution that fits their needs and schedule has truly been rewarding.”