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Home My WebLink AboutA003 - Letter from Todd & Sargent about office space percentage t SARGENT September 20, 2006 Honorable Mayor Ann Campbell City of Ames Council Members 515 Clark Ave Ames, IA 50010 Re: Proposed Todd & Sargent Office Building 2905 SE Fifth Street Ames, Iowa 50010 Dear Honorable Mayor and Council: We are writing this letter in regards to an issue which has recently surfaced that drastically affects our ability to construct a new corporate Todd & Sargent office in the Ames Community Development Park located at 2905 SE Fifth Street. The issue centers around the City's General Industrial (GI) Zone Development Standards, Table 29.901(3) which requires that a building used for office space be a least 35 percent of the lot area. With required parking, our consultants tell us that we can not build on this space unless we would build a four story building in order to meet the required building area. This does not seem feasible and also would not fit in with the present building decor in the area. Thus, we are asking for your help and consideration to make it possible to build our new corporate office here in Ames, IA. As I am sure many of you are aware, Todd & Sargent has been in the community for over 50 years and has many employees who live in Ames and enjoy many of the fine attributes of our community. We have been located since 1962 at a site on Arrasmith Trail; however, for a variety of reasons, we have decided to build a new office at a new campus. We have considered several sites and we concluded that the site at 2905 SE Fifth in Ames would be ideal. This is property located between Donnelly Marketing and Interpower adjacent to 1-35. It is a site that allows for future growth of our company. As you may know, we are specialized Design-Build Contractor that specializes in the design of Grain Elevators, Feed Mills, Flour Mills, Processing Plants and most recently, Biodiesel Plants. This recent venture into the Biofuel Market has expanded our horizons and we see and are experiencing new growth and expansion. We are bringing new jobs to town. In February, we identified the need to add 18 additional professional staff to our office as soon as we can find the qualified personnel. In the future, we believe we may be adding an additional 25 jobs to our corporate office. 620 Arrasmith Trail Ames,Iowa 50010 515-232-0442 Fax: 515-232-0682 Honorable Mayor Ann Campbell Ames City Council 9/20/06 We have been working diligently since February with our architect to design our new office. Drawings and Specifications are almost complete and we had planned to break ground in October so underground and concrete work could be competed before winter. We have planned a 21,000 square foot office which will not only be a beautiful facility but will also enhance the entire corridor that has developed in the Ames Community Development Park. With the visibility from 1-35, we feel it will do nothing but enhance the image of Ames to those who drive by our community. We have purchased the property and are ready to go but now we need your help. We ask that you take whatever steps are necessary to allow us to build at the proposed location. In so doing, you will create a win-win situation. This will allow a first class office building to be built which will attract new jobs, increase the City tax base and make us all even more proud of our community. We also ask that you move on this issue quickly so we can get our building built by next fall to accommodate our growth. Thank you again for your consideration. Yours truly, TODD &SARGENT, INC. Lee. M. Sargent Wm. H. Bokhoven Chief Executive Officer President 2