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Consultants urge West Des Moines to market for business, fix site visibility and create a deal‑closing fund
Summary
Consultants from Newmark presented a 400+ page economic development action plan recommending that West Des Moines shift more of its messaging toward business attraction, improve site readiness and online listing visibility, address utility constraints (notably power), and establish a modest discretionary incentive fund to close deals.
Consultants from Newmark presented the findings of a nine‑month strategic economic development study to the West Des Moines City Council on April 20, saying the city has strong infrastructure and quality of life but must shore up site readiness, listing visibility and incentives to win competitive projects.
Newmark managing director Brian Peterson said the firm produced a 400‑page report and an executive summary that prioritizes actions the city should take over the next decade. "Your work is just starting — this is day one of executing the playbook," Peterson told the council, summarizing the consultants' view that West Des Moines has strengths to build on but needs to change how it competes.
The presentation identified three recurring gaps: (1) few nationally visible, due‑diligenced sites and a low number of industrial listings on national broker platforms; (2) growing constraints on electrical capacity that could limit certain project types; and (3) a fragmented small‑business support ecosystem that leaves entrepreneurs unsure where to go for help.
Alan Reeves, Newmark's site‑selection lead, described the firm's approach to scoring 13 candidate sites in the city and warned that "we are site eliminators" — national site selectors frequently remove communities early when required site‑readiness information (zoning, geotechnical, wetland delineations, pricing) is missing. Reeves recommended proactive due diligence and clearer asking prices so West Des Moines sites appear on national shortlists.
Kim Moore, who led the incentives review, told the council that cash remains a decisive tool in headquarters and other high‑value site decisions. She recommended the city consider a modest discretionary deal‑closing fund — a rolling cash reserve that could be built over time and used selectively — and to tailor local incentives for redevelopment, R&D and workforce support in addition to the infrastructure incentives the city has often used.
Newmark also recommended sharpening the city's marketing: put business wins and corporate testimonials front and center (the consulting team said the fact that a major data center customer has expanded in the community multiple times should be prominent), limit RFI responses to projects the city can realistically serve, and improve coordination with regional economic partners.
Council members asked technical follow‑ups about sites, utility timelines and incentives. City staff said the full Newmark report will be finalized and circulated to council within weeks and that the next step will be drafting an implementation plan and prioritizing City‑led actions.
What happens next: Councilors and staff said they will review Newmark's detailed recommendations and consider short‑term priority items, including a select set of sites for proactive due‑diligence, marketing updates, and options for a modest discretionary incentive fund.
