IEDA board takes second look at Sammons expansion, approves $4M in incentives

/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BR_web_311x311.jpeg

Sammons Financial Group and its subsidiaries will receive $3.8 million for a $65 million construction project that could add 125 jobs to its West Des Moines workforce of about 500 people. The Iowa Economic Development Authority board approved $2.44 million in insurance premium tax credits and $1.38 million in sales and service tax refunds. The West Des Moines City Council has approved a 10-year, $13 million rebate of property tax revenues for a 200,000-square-foot office building at the southeast corner of 81st Street and Mills Civic Parkway, a plot of ground where Fareway once planned to build. Sammons currently operates out of leased space in three West Des Moines office buildings. The new office building will provide a local headquarters and provide space for additional hiring. The state incentives support the creation of 125 jobs at an hourly rate of $30.32. The board was scheduled to vote on the request for state incentives in December, but the request was pulled after insurance industry publication reported that Sammons planned to lay off a “small group” of employees in four states where it operates, including Iowa. However, the company said it also had 25 open positions and was poised for growth. Sammons is the parent company for Midland National Life in Sioux Falls, S.D.; North American Company for Life and Health Insurance in West Des Moines; and Sammons Institutional Group, which sells retirement products. The company reports $82.1 billion in total assets, nearly 1.1 million life insurance policies worth $276.6 billion, and 611,013 annuity contracts, according to Insurancenewsnet.com. Sammons expects to start construction in the spring and occupy its new building in fall 2020. Read more about the project at BusinessRecord.com.