Return to Nicholas Johnson's Coralville Rain Forest Web Site
 
 

Several Cities Awarded Environmental Grants [The Gazette]
Perry Beeman, "Rainforest Backers Make Announcement Today" [Des Moines Register]
Rain Forest Folks Announce Business Partner [The Gazette]
John Schumacher, "Rainforest Project Make Announcements" [KFJB Marshalltown/RadioIowa]
Rod Boshart, "Rain Forest Gets New Name, Partner" [The Gazette]
Perry Beeman, "Rain Forest Has New Name, Partner" [Des Moines Register]
Rain Forest Gets New Name [Iowa City Press-Citizen]
Rainforest Project Name Announced [KCCI-TV8, Des Moines]
Tour "Earthpark" [WHO-TV13, Des Moines]
Steve Nicoles, "Riverside Has Money for Newly Named Earthpark" [KCRG-TV9, Cedar Rapids]
West Des Moines Leaders Meet With Rainforest Execs [KCCI-TV8, Des Moines]

Associated Press, "Environmental Project Dubbed 'Earthpark'" [Dubuque Telegraph Herald]
Perry Beeman and Erin Jordan, "Rain Forest to Team Up With Tech Firm" [Des Moines Register]
Rod Boshart, "Rain Forest Gains Name, Partner" [The Gazette]
Associated Press, "New Name, Partner for Project" [Iowa City Press-Citizen]
 

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    The announcement is expected as part of a 10:30 a.m. news conference detailing what project officials call several significant developments. Details of the announcement weren’t disclosed Tuesday.

    Leaders of The Environmental Project, the group proposing the rain forest, have been trying to secure private financing for the project for several years.

    An update about the project’s site selection also is expected today, though a final host community won’t be chosen until the project’s board of directors meets in June. Developers in Grinnell, Pella, Riverside and Tiffin are vying for the attraction.

    Follow updates on this story today at GazetteOnline.com

    Several Iowa cities, including Coralville and Marion, will receive grants for economic redevelopment and environmental cleanup projects from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency’s Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment Program.

    The Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together to prevent, assess, clean up and reuse brownfields.

    Coralville received two $180,500 grants to conduct environment site assessments around the First Avenue Revitalization area and to create and maintain an electronic portfolio of all environmental site assessments for public use.

    Marion received three $200,000 grants. Two of these grants will be used to monitor the health of area residents, perform environment site assessments and develop quality assurance plans and cleanup alternatives for sites in the Central Corridor project area. The third $200,000 grant will help the city clean up approximately 20 acres of the former Chicago Central and Pacific railroad property.

    Perry and Waterloo also received grants.

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Architects have completed more work on the project, also expected to include an aquarium, theater, native Iowa plantings and other features. Rainforest officials have indicated they are close to announcing more financing for the the $180 million project. That could come as early as today.

After years of negotiating with Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Coralville, founder Ted Townsend and his team are now considering bids from Grinnell, Tiffin, Riverside and Pella/Red Rock Lake. Dubuque would be considered if the rain forest concept were changed to adapt with the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium, project planners said.

Townsend's group wants the local sponsor to raise or invest $25 million.

DES MOINES, IA - The Environmental Project this morning delivered news its supporters have been longing to announce: that Siemens One Inc. will be the group's main business partner for a proposed indoor rain forest in Iowa.

   The announcement was made at a news conference here.

   Rain forest organizers also said the project has a new name -- Earthpark. Construction is to begin in 2007 and the facility is to open in 2009-10.

   Siemens One Inc. is the sales and marketing organization for Siemens USA, part of a worldwide technology and communications conglomerate.

   Still to be determined is where the $180 million tourist attraction will be located. Developers in Grinnell, Pella, Riverside and Tiffin have made pitches, with a selection expected in June.

   The rain forest project needs the financial support. Congress last year froze $50 million it gave organizers, saying it will take the funds away if the project does not raise an equal amount before December 2007.

   Plans in the works for five years to place the rain forest in Coralville fell through last year when officials from the project and Coralville could not agree to terms for transferring city land to the project.

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Menner says Siemen’s has been in the forefront of the technology industry and that the new developments have been in the works for some time. Grinnell is one of four communities vying for the project.

Menner says the project’s board will make a decision soon. They're still working on the site selection, talking with the four towns interested in hosting the project, and Menner says by the time the board meets next month they hope for a decision. Pella, Riverside and Tiffin are the other three communities in the running.

David Oman, the project's executive director, said what once was tabbed the Environmental Project formally has been named Earthpark and will feature German-based Siemens as its primary technology provider.

Oman said the name Earthpark tested very favorably and is now the permanent moniker for the project that will include a large aquarium, exterior prairie and wetland exhibits, an indoor rain forest and galleries of multiple eco-systems and environmental science issues.

Oman said the project pricetag stands at about $155 million with close to $90 million of that already committed and prospects looking positive to complete the fundraising goal by year's end. Currently, four sites are under study as possible locations for Earthpark - Tiffin, Riverside, Grinnell and the Pella/Lake Red Rock area, with Dubuque also getting special consideration, he said.

Details of what Siemans will provide for the rain forest were not clear today. Officials at the news conference said they were subject to further discussion, and that the contribution could range from being in-kind to cash.

The unique project is projected to attract one million visitors annually and generate $130 million annually in economic benefits. It is also expect to create 150 permanent jobs, 500 construction jobs for three years and more than 2,300 indirect and induced jobs from spin-off business activity, Oman said.

Plans call for construction of Earthpark to begin in 2007 with opening slated during the 2009-10 school year.

For more information, go to www.earthpark.org

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Project manager David Oman also said that two of four communities vying for the development, formally called The Environmental Project, have exceeded the minimum $25 million investment to stay alive in the competition for the development.

He declined to name them or to discuss the potential sites. "We're not going to get into handicapping," Oman said.

Earthpark's board plans to pick a site in June after chairman and former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray returns from a trip to China.

Riverside, Pella, Grinnell and Tiffin are still in the running. Dubuque is interested in pieces of the project if those communities fail.

_______________
Grimshaw Architects
Earthpark preliminary interior design. Earthpark will include a large aquarium, exterior prairie and wetland exhibits, an indoor rain forest and galleries on multiple eco-systems and enviromental science issues.
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Oman said the technology firm, Siemens, is an international conglomerate that supplies medical equipment in Iowa. Oman said earthpark is negotiating with Siemen for a financial investment, in-kind services, or both.

One idea is for the company to use earthpark as a showcase for its new technologies.

At a press conference in Des Moines today, project architects released design ideas that would base the embrane-covered structure's form on a bat's wing or a sea shell. The project, planned for years, is currently scheduled to break ground next year and open in the 2009-10 school year.

Backers say the $155 million facility would draw a million visitors a year and provide a $131 million a year financial boost to the area. That cost does not include the land.

The facility would include an indoor rainforest, a half-million gallon aquarium, a theater, and other features. It would be built as an education center and would feature energy-efficient design and solar, fuel cell and wind power as possible power sources.

“Earthpark” is the new moniker for the indoor rain forest educational project, the project’s director announced at a press conference today in Des Moines.

With the new name comes a new Web site at www.earthpark.org.

The project’s leaders also announced today a partnership with Siemens AG, a German company that will serve as the project’s “technology partner.” Earthpark officials didn’t offer any details on the financial details of the partnership. The $155 million project, once scheduled to be built in Coralville, has been plagued with an inability to raise private funds for its construction, and recently had $50 million in federal funds pulled from the project. The $50 million will only become available if the rain forest can raise matching funds.

“Current and future Siemens technologies such as fuel cells, geo-thermal and water treatment equipment, advanced lighting, communications, fire, life safety and security systems, among others, will be embedded and displayed inside Earthpark,” according to a press release on the Earthpark Web site.

Coralville is off the roster of potential sites after relations soured between city officials and the park after stalled efforts to raise money. But negotiations continue with organizers in Dubuque, Grinnell, Pella, Riverside, and Tiffin. The proposed location of the park is supposed to be announced in June following a final review of local partnership proposals.

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They are still looking at five sites across Iowa, including Dubuque, Grinnell, Pella, Riverside and Tiffin.

Developers also unveiled new images of what Earthpark will look like. They said it will create 500 construction jobs and 150 permanent jobs in the city that's selected. Earthpark is also expected to have an economic impact of $130 million annually.

"When you bring a million people to an area, it's a big deal and it puts another floor under a local economy. So it's a wide array of jobs that are getting created," said David Oman, Earthpark's executive director.

Developers said a final decision on the Earthpark site will be made sometime in June.

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Organizers say the four acre facility will attract visitors from all over the world. Perhaps the highlight is the domed rain forest. In the design concept you can see the building will be several stories high and feature aerial catwalks more than 100-feet above the rain forest floor.

Walkways on the ground floor will also wind through the forest itself. The ground floor is also where you'll find more than a thousand species of plants and trees. The Acai palm, Itauba and rubber trees will make up the rain forest canopy. There will be animals as well, including the three-toed sloth, giant otters and red howler monkeys.

The rain forest isn't the only highlight. 'Earthpark' will also include a freshwater Amazonian aquarium located very close to the rain forest. The aquarium will include creatures Iowans rarely get a chance to see in person. Animals like electric eels, freshwater stingrays and even several species of piranha.

The facility also has education in mind and organizers hope to partner with area universities and researchers world-wide. That's why a teacher training center and learning center will also be constructed inside 'Earthpark.' the learning facility will be aproximately half-the size of a traditional metro high school. Organizers say it wil be a great resource for students and teachers of all levels and ages.

The park will have other features too, like an interactive multi-media gallery and a 4-D virtual reality theater.

'Earthpark' officials hope to break ground next year. However, this project still has along way to go. Next month the Environmental Project hopes to select a location for 'Earthpark' and have the entire facility up and running by late 2009.

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Besides a new name for the project which includes a rain forest, the executive director announced two of the four finalists to host Earthpark have raised the prerequisite $25-million. One of those is Riverside which is also building a casino and golf resort. Casino CEO Dave Kehl said, “We've put together a large incentive package to help Earthpark come along and we're excited about the opportunity to bring it to Riverside."

About $10-million will come from the casino resort, which is expected to open later this summer. Kehl’s family is donating $2-million. The rest is expected to come from non-profits, the city and county. This in no way means Riverside is a lock to host Earthpark. And it does not mean Earthpark has all of its funding, although some could come from the new technology partner, German-based Siemens. Earthpark executive director Dave Oman said, “Discussions continue in terms of an exact evaluation of what that partnership will be."

Earthpark is still looking to raise a total of $155-million. Siemens could contribute to that. Earthpark officials have a personal timetable of the end of the year to have all the money in place.

The Earthpark board of directors will meet sometime in early- to mid-June to announce the winning community. They still hope to break ground in 2007 with the project up and running in 2009 or 2010.

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The Environmental Project group said Wednesday that the rainforest will be called Earthpark.

The group said that the German-based electronics company Siemens plans to join the project as a technology partner.

There are currently five communities in the running for the $155 million project -- Grinnell, Pella, Riverside, Dubuque and Tiffin but that list may soon expand to six possible host cities.

News Channel 8's Emily Givens obtained exclusive information that West Des Moines city leaders met with project officials on Tuesday.

West Des Moines' mayor, city manager, two council members and Polk County Supervisor Bob Brownell attended the meeting, NewsChannel 8 reported.

Earthpark executives unveiled new video of what the Iowa rainforest project will look like, and discussed the five Iowa cities that may host the venue.

Dave Oman, Earthpark's executive director, said they hope to reach a decision by mid-June about which city will be home to the park.

On Tuesday, Oman and a handful of other Earthpark executives met at a Regency office building in West Des Moines, NewsChannel 8 reported.

"I was an instigator. I said, 'I just want to hear what's going on' and I bring everybody together," said West Des Moines Council Member Loretta Sieman.

"The meeting was educational -- an informational meeting -- a chance for us to listen and learn and get more information with what's going on with Earthpark," said West Des Moines City Council Member Jim Sandager.

Sieman said the meeting was "strictly informational" and nothing else.

Brad Olsen, a West Des Moines City Council member, said he did not get invited. "My understanding is the meeting was held to look at alternate locations," Olsen said.

NewsChannel 8 reported that Maffitt Lake, which is in West Des Moines right off Interstate 35, has long been rumored to be one of the many places the rainforest could go in the metro.

So far, no one can say for certain that West Des Moines, or any place in the Des Moines metro, is 100 percent out of the mix.

"For a community to get it now, unless anything would fall apart, for a community to get it now, you don't have a lot of time to pull $25 million together and do all this stuff. But they were saying they've got good candidates," Sieman said.

"It would surprise me greatly. I have a sign on my desk that says nothing is impossible. So, I am long past the time when I would attempt to predict the future," said Ted Townsend, Earthpark's creator.

NewsChannel 8 spoke by telephone with West Des Moines Mayor Gene Meyer Wednesday afternoon who said that the city has not initiated any kind of application process.

Meanwhile, Oman said they are not looking at any new applicants at this time.

NewsChannel 8 reported that it appears that the meeting did not violate open meeting laws because four West Des Moines city leaders attended, and the mayor does not vote and the city manager is not considered a council member.

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But a home for the center - and the funding to get it built - have yet to be finalized.

Officials said the location will be decided by mid-June, with Grinnell, Pella, Riverside and Tiffin vying to host the center.

A proposal to combine the project with the Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque is still on the table, but officials consider it a fallback plan.

"Our team is working to try and assess that information and study it. That work will continue for the next few weeks," said David Oman, executive director of the Earthpark project. "I'm not going to get into handicapping."

Developers said Siemens will provide Earthpark with products, services and design input. They are working with company to figure out where Siemens is going to deploy funds it has committed to the project.

"Siemens has a green culture," Oman said. "We have with them a pretty significant number on the table, and a number of ways they are studying to fill up that number."

According to Earthpark officials, the center will pump over $130 million annually into the local economy and create 150 permanent jobs, more than 400 construction jobs and over 2,300 "ripple effect" jobs in the local community through commercial development such as restaurants and hotels.

Developers have lowered their cost estimate of building the facility from $180 million after talks to house the center in Coralville broke down. The parcel of land project officials wanted would have cost at least $25 million.

Officials say the project will be funded by a $50 million Department of Energy grant secured by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a $25 million contribution from the town awarded Earthpark and state funding they hope will be between $15 and $20 million. The rest, they said, could come from debt financing.

Developers hope to have funding in place by December.

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Project director David Oman said two of four communities vying for the development, formerly called the Environmental Project, now have the $25 million investment needed for consideration. Local representatives identified those as Pella/Red Rock Lake and Riverside. Grinnell and Tiffin are candidates, but haven't raised the money.

Earthpark's board plans to pick a site in June after board chairman Robert Ray, the former governor of Iowa, returns from a trip to China.

Oman said the technology firm, Siemens, is an international conglomerate that supplies medical equipment in Iowa. He said earthpark is negotiating with Siemens for a financial investment, in-kind services, or both. One idea is for the company to use earthpark as a showcase for its new technologies.

"We have made a substantial proposal that is on the table," Oman said.

Ken Aurichio, spokesman for Siemens, said the company plans to support the project, but the mix of financial backing and in-kind support is still up in the air.

The company's recent projects include Reliant Stadium in Houston.

Representatives from Pella/Red Rock Lake and Riverside said Wednesday that their communities have each offered the project more than $25 million.

"We presented an attractive package," said Glenn Patton, a board member of the Washington County Casino Resort, to be built in Riverside. Eric Woolson, spokesman for the Pella/Red Rock Lake group, said his group also exceeded the local goal.

Bill Menner, executive director of Poweshiek Iowa Development, said less than two months was not enough time to secure the $25 million. Tiffin also has not reached the $25 million goal, said community representative Jim Angstman.

Oman said the project hopes to combine a $50 million federal grant already in hand with $25 million from a local community, perhaps $25 million from private investors, and a proposed Vision Iowa grant approaching $20 million as key financing.

At a press conference in Des Moines on Wednesday, project architects released design ideas that would base the membrane-covered structure's form on a bat's wing or a sea shell. The project, planned for years, would break ground next year and open in the 2009-10 school year.

Backers say the $155 million facility would draw a million visitors a year and provide a $131 million-a-year financial boost. The project cost does not include land.

The facility would include an indoor rain forest, a half-million-gallon aquarium and a theater. It would be an education center and feature energy-efficient design and solar, fuel cell and wind power as possible power sources.

    But they left some nagging financing questions unanswered.

    Chief among them: how much financially Siemens will contribute to the project, whether the rain forest has enough money to unlock a $50 million grant and how the project will get all the cash it needs to build.

    ‘‘It’s an exciting concept at the right time,’’ said Ken Aurichio, a spokesman for Siemens USA, a subsidiary of a German-based global electronics and engineering company that will serve as primary technology provider for the newly named Earthpark project somewhere in Iowa.

    ‘‘Sustainability is on everyone’s mind, and it’s going to be for a while,’’ he said. ‘‘This is a project that’s demonstrating the future of sustainability. Without question, it will be a premier showcase place.’’

    For that reason, Siemens signed on. It will be on a team that has expanded its international reach to include Kajima Urban Development, a Los Angeles firm with a Tokyo-based parent company, as project/development manager, and an architectural firm, Grimshaw, which worked on England’s heralded Eden project.

    ‘‘This is a global project located in Iowa,’’ said Ted Townsend, a Des Moines businessman who envisioned the 21st-century environmental/educational center and has put up $10 million toward the proposed facility’s $155 million price tag.

    Earthpark Executive Director David Oman said Siemens is well-known globally as a ‘‘green’’ company that can help deliver a state-of-the-art facility powered by alternative and renewable energy sources and numerous technological advances.

    Oman described a fouracre, 300,000-square-foot project with a large aquarium, exterior prairie and wetland exhibits, an indoor rain forest and galleries of multiple ecosystems and environmental science issues.

    He said Earthpark officials are discussing the financial ramifications of Siemens’ involvement. They include what he called a ‘‘pretty significant’’ grant request and possible technological elements at reduced or no cost, he said.

    ‘‘Discussions are continuing in terms of the exact valuation of what that partnership will be,’’ he said.

    Items from Siemens such as fuel cells, geothermal and water treatment equipment, advanced lighting, communications, fire, life safety and security systems are to be embedded and displayed inside Earthpark, Oman said.

    Project managers showed two conceptual images Wednesday of what Earthpark might look like. They said it could be built in three zones — the cloud forest, the deep jungle, and a lowland and flooded forest zone known as the Amazon waters. They would be connected by a central core area.

    Oman said the cost of making Earthpark a reality stands at about $155 million, with close to $90 million already committed and prospects looking positive to complete the fundraising goal by year’s end.

    Four sites are under study as possible locations — Tiffin, Riverside, Grinnell and the Pella/Lake Red Rock area, with Dubuque also getting special consideration, Oman said. A site selection announcement by the Earthpark board of directors is expected in June.

    Oman said two communities already have met Earthpark’s $25 million demand to play host to the rain forest. Investors in Riverside have indicated they can reach that amount. The successful bidder also will be expected to request along with Earthpark a Vision Iowa grant of $13 million to $19 million, Oman said.

    Those contributions, combined with corporate and other private funding sources, should exceed the required match to unfreeze a nearly $50 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. Oman said the project also may have to borrow.

    Plans call for construction to begin in 2007 with opening slated during the 2009-10 school year.

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But a home for the center -- and the funding to get it built -- have yet to be finalized.

Officials said Earthpark's location will be decided by mid-June, with Grinnell, Pella, Riverside and Tiffin vying to host the center.

A proposal to combine the project with the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque is still on the table, but officials consider it a fallback plan.

"Our team is working to try and assess that information and study it. That work will continue for the next few weeks," said David Oman, executive director of the Earthpark project. "I'm not going to get into handicapping."

Developers said Siemens will provide Earthpark with products, services and design input. They are working with the company to figure out where Siemens is going to deploy funds it has committed to the project.

"Siemens has a green culture," Oman said. "We have with them a pretty significant number on table, and a number of ways they are studying to fill up that number."

According to Earthpark officials, the center will pump more than $130 million annually into the local economy and create 150 permanent jobs, more than 400 construction jobs and more than 2,300 "ripple effect" jobs in the local community through commercial development such as restaurants and hotels.

Developers have lowered their cost estimate of building the facility from $180 million after talks to house the center in Coralville broke down. The parcel of land project officials wanted would have cost at least $25 million.

Officials say the project will be funded by a $50 million Department of Energy grant secured by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a $25 million contribution from the town awarded Earthpark and state funding they hope will be between $15 million to $20 million. The rest, they said, could come from debt financing.

Developers hope to have funding in place by December.

"There's a multitude of sources, some public, some private, some on a continued basis, that get big projects like this done," Oman said.

Earthpark officials also released two conceptual designs for the facility, which will cover four acres and feature an indoor tropical rain forest, a one million-gallon aquarium, theaters, re-created wetlands and a tall grass prairie.

One concept is built to resemble the bone structure of a bat wing. The other design was influenced by the curvature of a nautilus shell.

Earthpark officials said they expect the center to turn a profit of between $2-5 million a year.

"We need to do some nontraditional things to diversify our economy. One of the things we can do is create that destination attraction that we don't have," Oman said. "We don't have a Gateway Arch, a Space Needle or an Eiffel Tower or something really world-class that elevates our state. These communities want that."