Tag Archives: Cedar Valley TechWorks

Mixed Use Project Construction Begins on TechWorks Campus

Construction has begun on the hotel on the TechWorks Campus in the Cedar Valley of Iowa.

$40M hotel, training center, conference space, restaurant construction launch in Tech 2 building

Today, TechWorks Campus, a subsidiary of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, together with the City of Waterloo, Iowa Economic Development Authority, and Financial District Properties (FDP), celebrated the construction launch of the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, John Deere Training Center, and restaurant in the Tech 2 building on the TechWorks Campus. The construction launch represents a significant step in the continued progress of developing The Green@TechWorks.

Governor Terry Branstad, Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, and Iowa Economic Development Authority representatives were present to celebrate the launch and its significance as one of the first designated Iowa Reinvestment Districts (IRD) and one of the first IRD project to get underway.

Tech 2, an 88-year old former John Deere tractor manufacturing building, is being transformed into The Green@TechWorks re-development project. The 180,000 square foot, six-story building will house a 191-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel; a new restaurant operated by Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO); John Deere Regional Training Center and a conference center (managed by Courtyard). The Green project is a principal feature of the overall TechWorks Campus riverfront re-development.

Also celebrating the launch was hotel operator Hotel Specialists, Inc. (HSI) of Jacksonville, Illinois and restaurant operator Consolidated Restaurant Operations, Inc. (CRO) of Dallas, Texas.

The Green & Overall Project

The Green@TechWorks is part of the larger 33-acre TechWorks Campus. In addition to the Tech 1 and Tech 2 buildings (formerly John Deere Westfield R & C2) the campus includes parcels suitable for light manufacturing and retail. TechWorks Campus is the first technology park of its kind in Iowa to combine world class business amenities within a Brownfield redevelopment site.

The John Deere Waterloo Tractor & Engine Museum is already established in the Campus area, as is the Tech 1 Center for Applied Advanced Manufacturing, including the University of Northern Iowa’s Metal Casting and Additive (3D) Manufacturing Center and a Design Lab in partnership with Hawkeye Community College.

A marina and a riverfront restaurant along the Cedar River are also part of the overall $74.1 million Campus development plan.

“This is a momentous day for TechWorks, the city, and the state of Iowa,” says Cary Darrah, General Manager of TechWorks Campus. “Finally, the public can see the results of years of planning and the efforts of those who believed in the vision for this campus. This is the first of many celebrations to come!”

Downtown Momentum

TechWorks Campus is just steps to the Cedar Valley Recreation Trails, entertainment & museum districts, and a variety of Riverloop District amenities.

Other developments underway in the vicinity include: Grand Crossing mixed use residential/condominiums, Single Speed Brewery with Sidecar Coffee Shop, and Hawkeye Community College Urban Campus.

Construction of the Tech 2 building is now underway, with a projected hotel opening in Spring 2017.

TechWorks Campus is a private non-profit corporation and subsidiary of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber. More information can be found at www.techworkscampus.com or by contacting Cary Darrah, General Manager at cdarrah@cedarvalleyalliance.com, or Wes James Facilities Manager at wjames@cedarvalleyalliance.com, or by calling (319) 232-1156.

Find photos here.

Read more in the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier.

Development Team Contacts:

The Green@TechWorks – Financial District Properties: Rodney Blackwell 563-324-9898

City of Waterloo: Mayor Quentin Hart 319-291-4301 or

Economic Development Director Noel Anderson 319-291-4366

Annual AMC Engineering Conference Kicks Off at TechWorks

Cedar Valley of Iowa – The 2015 AMC Engineering Conference will be held May 5-7 at the Ramada Inn and Five Sullivan’s Convention Center in Waterloo. This is the 30^th anniversary of the Annual AMC Engineering Conference which is an educational conference and tradeshow for agricultural and off-highway equipment design engineers.

AMC (formerly Agricultural Machinery Conference) is a forum for engineers, managers and other professionals in the field of agricultural equipment design to gather with the purpose of exchanging ideas, see the latest component technology, and learn new design practices, techniques and methods of importance to the industry.

Waterloo was selected because of its position in the heart of U.S. agriculture and agricultural machinery industry.

The event will include informational and technical sessions on the most important areas of equipment design and development and attendees will have the opportunity to listen in on any of nearly 50 presentations in fields as varied as engines, ergonomics and economics.

The Alliance & Chamber will co-sponsor a booth with TechWorks Campus and UNI Metal Castings Center at the Conference to showcase the cooperation between TechWorks and UNI’s Metal Casting Center’s expertise in Additive Manufacturing (3-D printing), and the resulting partnerships with industry, both within the state and beyond. TechWorks will also play host to the Conference opening ceremonies on Tuesday with a social hour, dinner & keynote presentation, and Campus tour.

“This is an excellent opportunity to show a key technology-based business audience firsthand the advanced technologies available and planned at TechWorks and share the vision for where it is headed with the startup of the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Network Hub,” says Wes James, TechWorks Facilities Manager & Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center Operations Director, “They will leave with the message that the Cedar Valley is a great place to develop product ideas and processes.”

More information about the conference and registration can be found here: http://www.amc-online.org/About.html

To learn more about TechWorks Campus and additive manufacturing, contact Wes James at wjames@cedarvalleyalliance.com or by calling 319-287-8149.

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Brownfields Project Awarded $3 Million

Iowa Economic Development Authority (IEDA) officials awarded the Grand Crossings project $3 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in January 2015. The four-story building will include 68 units located at the corner of Jefferson Street and Westfield Avenue on the former Grand Hotel site near the TechWorks Campus. More information on the Former Grand Hotel site project can be found here.

New center will oil Iowa’s manufacturing wheel

A new manufacturing center will open in the Cedar Valley next year and provide a space for everybody — from the largest manufacturers to the individual tinkerer — to build products.
Although some say the timeline for the Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Center is a bit aggressive, project leaders say a mid-2014 debut will happen.
“I have been an entrepreneur long enough to know that timing is everything,” said Mark Kittrell, president of the Iowa Innovation Corp. “There is a national priority to bring manufacturing back to the U.S. We need to make things in the U.S. if we are going to grow.”
The facility in Waterloo will model itself after TechShop, which has opened a handful of open-access shops across the country.
The center’s stated goal is “to provide members with every conceivable tool and machine that they would need to build, hack, fix or create just about any kind of project.” These tools include 3-D printers, sewing machines, floor jacks and welding equipment. Members would pay a fee to use the tools.
The project is part of the state’s effort to expand advanced manufacturing and innovation, considered critical components to job and economic growth. Manufacturing is Iowa’s largest industry, valued at $27.6 billion.
The project will set up shop in a building at Cedar Valley TechWorks, which is already expecting the arrival of a John Deere museum and an eco-friendly hotel.

12/20/2013 | Marco Santana | The Des Moines Register
Original story found at: http://tinyurl.com/q68nye6

Grow Cedar Valley