Three businesses will pay the city of Norwalk $635,000 for sponsorships in Norwalk Central, a planned mixed-use development in the center of the community that is expected to include retail, restaurants, sporting and recreation venues, and public spaces such as trails, parks and an amphitheater.

The money from the sponsorships will be used to pay for project-related expenses such as construction of facilities and the purchase of equipment and furnishings, Hollie Zajicek, Norwalk’s economic development director, wrote in an email.

Businesses that obtained the five-year sponsorships include:

• Gregg Young Auto Group, an Omaha-based company with a dealership in Norwalk. The company is providing $375,000 to the city over five years. In return, a recreation area in Norwalk Central will be called Gregg Young Auto Sports Campus. Signage is planned throughout the campus, which will include an indoor recreation center, and 10 acres of multisport fields with all-weather turf.

• City State Bank, a locally owned community bank that has been in Norwalk since 1895. The bank is providing $160,000 to Norwalk over five years. In return, a 41,000-square-foot recreation facility will be named City State Bank Norwalk Fieldhouse. The facility will include basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts and common areas for programs aimed at teenagers and older adults. Norwalk’s parks and recreation department offices will also be located in the facility. Construction is expected to begin in the summer and be completed by early 2024.

• MidAmerican Energy Co., a Des Moines-based energy company whose service area includes two-thirds of Iowa and parts of three other states. The company is providing a one-time payment of $100,000 to the city. In return, an outdoor covered patio area on the back of the recreation facility will be sponsored by MidAmerican Energy and include signage recognizing the company.   

“The Norwalk Central project has taken years of hard work and dedication to bring to life,” Zajicek said in a prepared statement. “We are all now able to watch it unfold and having community partners … is a great blessing.”

Plans for Norwalk Central, located east of Iowa Highway 28 between Beardsley Street and High Road, have been in the works for more than seven years. City officials expect the sports fields and recreation facility to attract thousands of people annually to Norwalk.