(Spirit Lake)– The Spirit Lake city council Tuesday voted unanimously to approve an agreement between the city, the Spirit Lake Development Corporation and Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative to jointly develop a new industrial park on 320 acres of land just east of the city’s current eastern border north of Highways 9 & 71. Plans call for the land to be annexed into the city once it’s acquired. The price of the land has been put at $975,000. Terms of a development agreement call for Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative to pick up two-thirds of that, putting the city’s share at $325,000.
City Administrator Mark Stevens told the council the new industrial park will be built in phases, adding that infrastructure won’t be extended to the area until it’s certain a firm will be locating there. Stevens added the project represents some new opportunities for the city, adding it will give a boost to economic development over the next 10 to 20 years.
Shaun Arneson of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation told the council having the new site is vital if industrial development is to continue in the city, as it has run out of space in its existing industrial and business parks.
Stevens added the process of selecting a site for a new industrial park has been ongoing over the past couple of years.
