Wall Street Journal mention

The Des Moines/West Des Moines area was recently featured in a column by Maura Webber Sadovi in the Wall Street Journal. Sadovi's column, "Blueprint," examines commercial trends in the nation's top markets. Sadovi writes that "beyond the pigs, butter sculptures and corndogs at the Iowa State Fair that opens next month in Des Moines is an expanding commercial real-estate market that doesn't play to type." This column, titled "Financial Sector Spurs Development," describes how much of our region's real estate and job growth is driven by the insurance and financial services sector. Banking and insurance jobs account for about 15% of our area's total non-farm jobs. Percentage-wise, this is even higher than Hartford, Connecticut, long known as an insurance mecca.

The article details the expansion of Wells Fargo specifically, highlighting the 960,000 square-foot office campus they are getting close to completing in West Des Moines. Between that and the 360,000 square-foot building going up in Des Moines, Wells Fargo will have increased their workforce in the area from 5,000 in the year 2000 to over 11,000 employees. Sadovi credits our lower costs, the ability to balance work and family, and our growing number of amenities with these kind of commercial additions and improvements. Work-life balance is what it's all about. Short commutes, affordable housing, and good schools are also given as explanation. Sadovi even mentions Jordan Creek Town Center as an important attraction for the region.

Although we, even as a region, are much smaller than a place like Hartford, it's impressive that our economy and job growth are attracting attention from important players like the Wall Street Journal. Thanks to companies like Wells Fargo for contributing to the growth in West Des Moines!