A Team Approach to Economic Growth
Economic development is a team sport.
To successfully complete a project, it often takes collaboration from city, county, regional and state partners.
National site selectors consistently tell us that Greater Des Moines has an advantage over many competing regions: We know how to work together. They know that they can reach out to The Partnership and our team will connect them to the right partners and potential sites that can meet their needs.
This collaborative approach to economic development has helped The Partnership assist with more than 50 new and existing business location and expansion projects since the beginning of 2025, and the future is bright with more than 100 project leads generated so far in 2026.
Recently, The Partnership announced the winners of the 2026 Economic Impact Awards. The winning companies all completed projects that are helping our region grow. Their projects combined brought in over $160 million in capital investment and nearly 1,000 jobs in the region.
Winners include:
American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company®
The company relocated its headquarters and nearly 750 employees to Downtown Des Moines, occupying more than 200,000 square feet across seven floors.
Elevator
As the Jennings Kallen Advisors Entrepreneurial Award Winner, Elevator invested more than $4 million to transform a nearly 40,000-square-foot building in Downtown Des Moines into flexible warehouse, office and coworking space designed for growing businesses.
Holmes Murphy
The Waukee-based company expanded its Greater Des Moines presence with approximately 75,000 square feet of additional space in the newly renovated Arcadia building in West Des Moines with a $12.5 million capital investment.
Lawmark Capital Inc.
Lawmark Capital is transforming the iconic Financial Center in Downtown Des Moines into Mezzo on Walnut, a 209-residence lifestyle community.
Merchants Bonding
Merchants Bonding Company is completing a multimillion-dollar expansion of its West Des Moines headquarters by 34,000 square feet to support continued growth.
Tension Envelope & Print
The company continues to invest in its local Des Moines operations through new high-speed folding equipment designed to increase efficiency and production capacity.
United Mutual Insurance Association
This Grinnell company announced plans to expand its headquarters to accommodate its growth from eight to 45 employees over the past six years.
One common theme among all of these companies is they are investing in our region, making us even stronger for future economic development projects. Success sets us up for further success.
We will celebrate these companies at the Regional Summit on Thursday, Oct. 8, which is fitting because it takes regional collaboration to make projects like these come together. You can register at DSMpartnership.com/regionalsummit.
If you are considering growing your business, please let us know. The Partnership team can help.
Keep up with the momentum that's happening in and around Greater Des Moines (DSM) when you subscribe to one or all of the Greater Des Moines Partnership's newsletters — they're packed with the latest news, highlighting everything from upcoming events to development projects to policy updates. Join the mailing list to connect with The Partnership and help amplify stories from around the region.