WRIGHT COUNTY — A section of land located just south of the Prestage Foods of Iowa pork plant, south of Eagle Grove, could become home to multiple businesses in Wright County in the future.
The Wright County Board of Supervisors signed an agreement at its meeting Monday to purchase 80 acres of land near the intersection of Iowa Highway 17 and 320th Street.
Officials intend to develop an industrial park there.
The land was previously owned by Sparboe Co., according to Supervisor Stan Watne.
The north 40 acres of land was purchased by the county at $25,000 an acre. The south 40 acres cost about $11,000 an acre.
The transaction will become final in January.
According to Supervisor Karl Helgevold, the land will be paid for from the property taxes collected from Prestage.
“It’s in an urban renewal area,” Helgevold said. “We did tax increment financing. The taxes coming off the Prestage property will be the debt on the loans.”
He said the industrial park would be paid off in 10 years.
“Wright County continues to strive to be a leader in the agriculture industry,” Helgevold said. “The creation of this industrial park, with its great location and accessibility to all major utilities, will be a valuable asset for Wright County as we continue to attract and retain ag-related businesses to our county.”
The Prestage plant was built on about 150 acres of land. It encompasses about 700,000 square feet.
Prestage plans to begin operations sometime in January.
Cindy Litwiller, Wright County economic development director, said the site is intended to house businesses that would support Prestage.
“We are open to any industry that is looking for a spot to locate in Wright County,” Litwiller said. “Those could certainly be some companies in the supply chain for Prestage or it can be other companies as well.”
Litwiller said Wright County economic development has had conversations with some potential businesses, but declined to elaborate.
The number of businesses that could locate there is yet to be determined.
“That will depend on the needs of the companies that would want to locate there,” Litwiller said. “It is 80 acres, so we will be looking however it needs to be divided up to suit those companies. We are not specifically looking at certain size or anything like that.”
The county is working on providing infrastructure for the park, she said.
“The creation of this industrial park and its location in Wright County will be extremely beneficial to the area,” Litwiller said. “We are pleased with the progressive mindset displayed by Wright County Supervisors.”
