A new, nearly 300-acre industrial site on the southeast side of Des Moines is ready for development, city officials said Thursday at a news conference announcing that the site has been designated as shovel ready through the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Certified Sites program.

While no specific user for the site was identified, a site map shows that it will be divided into 10 parcels ranging in size from 10 acres up to 64 acres, and accommodate buildings ranging in size from 105,000 square feet to more than 768,000 square feet.

The site is south of East Army Post Road near the U.S. Highway 65 interchange, and offers easy access to regional transportation corridors, the Des Moines International Airport and the Southeast Corridor leading to Pleasant Hill.

The SE Des Moines Industrial Park, as the site is being called, has been zoned industrial and would allow for advanced manufacturing, biomedical technology, logistics and data centers.

Cody Christensen, director of the city’s Department of Development Services, said during the news conference that it is Des Moines’ first certified site for development. It’s been in the works for more than a year, he said.

“It’s incredibly important for Des Moines because it puts Des Moines on the map for companies across the nation that are looking to expand and maybe relocate to Central Iowa,” he said. “This is something we haven’t been able to do before so this puts us in a place to compete with other locations across the nation.”

The site is currently used for agriculture, but rezoned to industrial. An urban renewal area has been established, opening up opportunities for funding, infrastructure improvements and incentives, Christensen said.

All environmental and archaeological studies have been done, and infrastructure improvements have been approved by the City Council, ensuring utilities that are necessary for companies at the site will be in place when construction begins, he said.

Having all that done and being shovel ready will help expedite development with reduced risks for companies, officials said in a news release.

“We’re excited about all the opportunities it brings,” Christensen said.

Des Mayor Connie Boesen said the site will be among the 10 largest certified sites in Iowa.

“We’ve already heard from people who are interested in building here,” she said. “The certified site truly is a game changer inside the city of Des Moines. And this isn’t about just one business. It’s large enough to be the future home to a variety of businesses, which is exciting.”

The site is not just about the business it will attract — it will be a catalyst for growth in that area of the community, including housing and retail, Boesen said.

Andy Moffit, vice president of real estate development with Ryan Cos., which is partnering with the city on the site’s development, said with 3 million square feet available for development, reaching $1 billion in value is possible once the site is fully developed.

“The dollar scale will depend on the types of users,” he said at the news conference. “But … under the current construction pricing market, $1 billion is probably not unachievable, but it comes back to the types of users and size but at full build out it could definitely be in that range.”

According to a news release, Iowa has attracted more than $2.23 billion in capital investment as a result of its Certified Sites program.

Christensen said the plan is “real preliminary right now.”

“We’ve teed up the site for development,” he said. “As site selectors are looking for places to put businesses, they are identifying places like this that have been through a program like what the Iowa Economic Development Authority does to make sure the site is shovel ready.

“This tees up this portion of the city for anybody who’s kicking the tires on looking for a location where they can place their business, and at just about 300 acres this has the opportunity to attract some pretty sizable developments.”