Business & Tech
Part Two: West Des Moines' 'Medical Main Street' Brings Quality Jobs, Amenities
Many of the patients at West Des Moines' medical facilities come from outside the metro area. That means they plan to spend time and money at the area's new shops, hotels and restaurants.
West Des Moines' boom in health-care facilities over the last decade has spurred spinoff jobs, and additional tax revenue.
Clyde Evans, the city's development director, said the development in the “Medical Main Street” area has been very beneficial to West Des Moines, not just in the millions paid in property taxes, but also because the facilities employ a highly educated workforce and their existence helps boost surrounding restaurants, gas stations, hotels and more.
“For somebody coming from outlying Iowa, it’s a little less scary coming to West Des Moines than downtown (Des Moines)," Evans said. “When they come, they’re not coming by themselves. They’re staying in hotels and eating at restaurants and going shopping.”
Brown, the chief executive of The Iowa Clinic, said more than 40 percent of the facility’s patients travel from outside the greater Des Moines area.
“As a consequence, they need other services to be available to them which might include restaurants, and usually when somebody travels any substantial distance they want to combine that trip with other things,” such as shopping and entertainment, he said.
The area is likely to be the site of additional health care facilities and offices, said Chris Voggesser, president of the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce and the West Des Moines Development Connection.
While other job sectors have slowed in growth or declined, “we’re seeing upticks in that health care, higher education public sector,” he said. It “still has a lot of vitality and growth and is growing. We’re spending a lot of time marketing that industry. … We’ve got good momentum going with health care, and we want to keep that going.”
A consultant recently updated the city’s economic development action plan. Health care-life sciences was an area that was determined to be a good fit for West Des Moines.
“Any industry that is listed as a targeted industry, that’s going to be a sector that we’re going to spend some time recruiting those types of businesses,” said Evans, the economic development director.
Voggesser said he would work with city officials to roll out a new marketing campaign later this month that will target future job growth areas that include the health care industry. He said he’s also considering whether to attend a trade show later this year tied to the industry.