DYERSVILLE, Iowa — After months of delays brought on by a natural disaster as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, work to complete a major development in downtown Dyersville is nearing the homestretch as two businesses prepare to move in.
Next month, Spireon Inc. will relocate to the new $8.8 million building known as The Landing, which is being developed north of First Avenue East and west of Second Street Northeast. The building not only will offer commercial space but loft apartments and condos on the upper levels as well.
Each floor of the building is about 22,000 square feet. The building also will include a lower level for parking.
Next to move in will be a Pennsylvania-based outpatient medical company, which this week announced it will branch out in eastern Iowa with plans to open early next year.
Select Physical Therapy, a division of Select Medical, will move into a 1,500-square-foot space on the main level of the building. The business has about 25 clinics throughout Iowa, said Brett Raasch, a physical therapist with Select Physical Therapy in Des Moines.
“Our interest in Dyersville is we know about the community, and we already have some of our current staff in that community,” Raasch said. “We thought there was a need. We are continuing to grow across Iowa.”
Raasch said the company will hire two to three employees to start and add more as it continues to expand.
“We are excited,” he said. “We look forward to being able to partner with other physical therapists in the area and getting to know the community members.”
Dave Boekholder, vice president of sales at Spireon, said the company will begin moving furniture to The Landing early next week. The company initially planned to be in by fall, but construction to complete the building was stalled after the derecho destroyed many Iowa homes and businesses, and the pandemic interrupted orders for building materials.
“That’s totally understandable,” he said. “We are extremely excited to A) Get into that (building) and B) Just be a part of the whole revitalization project the Dyersville Economic Development Group is doing. Just to get our employees downtown and be part of that Main Street revitalization is fun to be part of. It’s going to be a great thing for the city of Dyersville.”
Steve Emerson, of Archiprop LLC, who is developing the project, said he is excited to see it come to fruition.
“It’s turned out fantastic,” he said. “It’s something they don’t have. They don’t have (many) apartments or multi-family housing. It adds more density to their downtown.”
Jacque Rahe, the executive director of the Dyersville Economic Development Corp., said she is working to secure a third tenant for the remaining 6,000-square-foot commercial space. It will most likely be a coffee shop-type of business and will include outdoor patio seating.
Rahe added she is working with a real estate agent to list and sell the condos and hopes to see the entire project wrapped up by April.
“It will be so great for our downtown to have the influx of employees during the day and residents,” she said. “It brings that vitality back to Dyersville’s heart. We have been doing a lot of programs to develop our downtown.”