Banker's Trust Welcomes Whole Foods to West Des Moines

Bankers Trust is pleased to welcome natural and organic foods grocer Whole Foods to the Des Moines Metro market. Bankers Trust worked closely with the local developer, Buyers Realty, Inc., to attract Whole Foods to the area.

Buyers Realty, a commercial real estate brokerage firm, has worked extensively with Bankers Trust since 2004.

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“We were proud to work with Buyers Realty to bring Whole Foods - an outstanding national retailer - to the metro,” said Bankers Trust CEO and President Suku Radia, “We are fortunate to have such a top notch firm here in Des Moines and we have enjoyed a great relationship over the years."

Whole Foods is the world’s leader in natural and organic foods and focuses on locally produced products. The Austin-based company has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in the United States for 14 consecutive years.

The Greater Des Moines market has been on Whole Foods’ radar as a potential new store site for several years.  The West Des Moines store is the first in Iowa and important to the expansion of the Whole Foods brand and customer base in the Midwest.

Whole Foods will be located in Water Tower Place Shopping Center on University Avenue in West Des Moines and is scheduled to open for business in late Spring 2012. Harry Wolf, managing director of Buyers Realty, said he feels it is very beneficial to use a recognized and committed local bank when attracting national retailers to the local market.

“For the last seven years Bankers Trust has been Buyers Realty’s principal banking source. The reason for our switching banks from a national bank to Bankers Trust was based on several important factors, including its local ownership and continuity of management which allows it to make financial decisions expeditiously; its significant capital structure; and most importantly, the fact that the executive team’s word is always good. When they make a commitment, you can count on it,” Wolf said.

“National retailers like Whole Foods are pleasantly surprised to have a responsive local bank that is large enough to handle their local business on an efficient, competitive basis.”

In addition, Bankers Trust had previously collaborated with Buyers Realty and its joint-venture partner, Knapp Properties, in bringing Trader Joe’s to the Galleria at Jordan Creek retail development in West Des Moines.

Buyers Realty specializes in retail commercial real estate not only in Des Moines but throughout Iowa as well as Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Indiana where it has developed and owns nearly 3 million square feet of commercial real estate developments, many of which have been successfully financed with Bankers Trust. They also exclusively represent major retailers in Iowa, and in many cases throughout the region, including Best Buy, Target, TJ Maxx, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby, Famous Footwear, PetSmart, AT&T and NYC Pizza.  

Founded in 1917, Bankers Trust is Iowa’s oldest and largest independently owned bank, with consolidated assets of $3.2 billion. Bankers Trust has a professional team of commercial bankers that provides financing solutions with flexible terms and creative approaches to meet commercial business requirements from Operational Lines-of-Credit to Real Estate Mortgage and Capital Purchases.