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Advanced Southwest reports 54 active projects, $110M+ capital investment and growing pipeline for 2025
Summary
Paula Hazelwood of Advanced Southwest provided the council an end‑of‑year report: 54 active projects, roughly $110 million in capital investment and 277 jobs created or retained in 2024; the organization seeks additional funding for a new co‑working space and highlighted large energy demands in the pipeline.
Paula Hazelwood, president and CEO of Advanced Southwest, gave the Council Bluffs City Council an end‑of‑year update on economic development activity in 2024 and early 2025.
Hazelwood said Advanced Southwest ended 2024 with 54 active projects across urban, rural and entrepreneurial sectors. She reported that the initiative supported projects that collectively represented about $110,000,000 in capital investment and resulted in the creation or retention of 277 jobs.
Hazelwood highlighted programmatic work including the Kitchen Council, which currently has 17 members after adding six in the year, and a REV pitch competition that raised $20,000 in prize funding. She said Advanced Southwest received a capacity-building grant from the Iowa West Foundation to assess and restructure Kitchen Council member recruitment and success-tracking and that the grant was awarded in January 2025.
On specific projects in Council Bluffs, Hazelwood described the Acadia mental-health and substance‑use facility at 20 Fourth and Richard Downing as a $64,500,000 capital investment with 44 full‑time‑equivalent positions. She noted other local projects including a $1.6 million office addition for Barton Solvents and ongoing developments by Nestory Park and TSL.
Hazelwood said the organization has raised about $750,000 toward a planned $1.9 million co‑working space at 20 Arena Way and continues solicitation of additional funders with an anticipated ground‑break in Q2 2025 if fundraising is completed. She said the team made roughly 60 referrals to partner organizations (Small Business Development Center, Nebraska Enterprise Fund, Iowa Western Community College) and hosted 35 events across Pottawattamie County.
Hazelwood concluded by warning the council that large data‑center and AI projects in the pipeline are increasing local electricity demand. She said utilities’ estimated timelines for building substation capacity have lengthened in some cases from months to several years; Advanced Southwest has begun exploring alternative energy solutions, including outreach to firms that provide small modular nuclear options, to help accelerate project timelines.
Council members thanked Hazelwood and staff; no formal action was required.
