If you build it, businesses will come?

A sizeable addition to Hartley's economic portfolio is sprinting towards the finish line.

Progress at the city's new industrial park is on schedule for completion by the end of the year. According to project engineer Jim Thiesse, several key infrastructure pieces have been installed and a sizeable portion of the groundwork has been completed.

"We're in pretty good shape," he said. "Barring any bad stretches of weather, we should pave it in July. For the most part, our contract work will be done."

Underground utilities have been installed and tested. Sanitary sewer and water mains are in, as is the storm sewer. The detention basin has been dug, and Thiesse said a nearby outlet waterway is roughly 75 percent complete.

He estimated that grading work is "probably 80 percent complete."

"What's left is finish grading, placement of topsoil, road subgrade and paving," he said. "The lift station components are there, but there's no power yet. The city will be installing electrical and gas when the time comes."

Despite some wet periods, Thiesse noted progress at the new industrial park has continued at a steady clip this year.

"There's been nothing out of the ordinary," he said. "We're having to replace some of the shoulder along the highway and the soils are wet, so we're fighting that a little bit."

The section of Highway 18 in front of the industrial park has been closed this spring due to bridgework farther west. That's actually aided the project, according to Thiesse.

"The lack of traffic on the highway helps," he explained. "There's less traffic control and they can occupy a lane."

The new industrial park is located directly west of Grace Fellowship on Highway 18. It encompasses just over 20 acres, and city officials are hoping it attracts new businesses to Hartley. The current industrial park located on the southeast side of town is near capacity.

The price tag of the project is estimated at $1.1-$1.3 million. The area has been divided into nine lots – the largest encompasses 3.56 acres and the smallest occupies 0.83 acres. The city is using tax increment financing (TIF) funds to pay for some of the development expenses.

The land for the new industrial park was purchased from Brent and Kimberly Rieck and Jason Krosch in December 2018 for $22,000 per acre, or $440,000 in total. An additional parcel of land totaling approximately 1 acre was purchased this year at a similar price to accommodate the outlet waterway.

Though work earlier this week was halted due to wet ground conditions, Thiesse said he's looking forward to pouring roads soon.

"They tested underground utilities last week and grading work went well," he said. "The underground crew is pretty well wrapped up right now and the grading work will get us ready for paving."