Real estate brokerage firm JLL has opened an office in The District at Prairie Trail in Ankeny, allowing its team to expand its presence in the region, officials with the firm said in a news release.

JLL handles commercial leasing and sales for the District, which is owned by DRA Properties. JLL will maintain its office in downtown Des Moines.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ankeny is the sixth largest city in Iowa with more than 72,000 people, its population more than doubling since 2000. Leaders at JLL said that growth underscores the importance of JLL’s investment in Ankeny.

“We’ve been working with DRA for a number of years, and The District is such a unique live-work-play development for tenants to enjoy,” Marcus Pitts, senior managing director at JLL, said in the release. “With 227 employees across the state of Iowa, we’re actively looking to expand into additional markets, with Ankeny being the first.”

Dennis Albaugh, president of DRA, said in the release that “it makes so much sense to have [JLL] situated in the community they helped build.”