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Organizers of the 21st-century national environmental center said Tuesday it will be built near Pella or Riverside, according to a press release.

"The site selection process has worked extremely well these past several months," said David Oman, Earthpark executive director. "After hundreds of hours of work by our team, in league with dozens of people in communities across Iowa, we now have two viable locations under consideration as Earthpark's future home."

The number of locations in Iowa offered to Earthpark earlier this year totaled 16. The site process ultimately reduced the number to seven and then four.

In addition to large, attractive site locations, Oman added that development teams in Riverside and Pella have financial packages that meet or exceed the $25 million local funding goal established by the Earthpark board of directors last spring.
The money in Riverside will come from a mix of private and public contributions, according to Glenn Patton, a real estate developer who is one of the leaders of the effort to land the facility in Washington County.

"We have made a contribution to the Earthpark for an amount of money exceeding $25 million. In addition to the money, we are offering 100 acres of land," Patton said. "We feel we have made a tremendously exciting offer."

A group of business leaders threw Riverside's name into the site selection hat following a much publicized breakup in late 2005 between officials representing the project and the city of Coralville, which was slated to host the museum.

Criteria that will help determine the final selection include market potential, proximity to educational institutions, highway access, local funding commitments, and the nature and timeliness of surrounding development.

The two communities became finalists for Earthpark when Regency Land Services of West Des Moines, withdrew its proposed site as part of its Villages of Tiffin project.

Regency had identified approximately half of the local $25 million financial commitment, but acknowledged that more funding would have required additional time.

"We know Earthpark wants to keep moving forward," said Rob Myers, vice president of Regency, "Our firm and its leadership have enjoyed an incredible learning curve on the Earthpark project." Myers added that Regency may remain involved with Earthpark as the project finalizes financing and progresses from the conceptual design stage. "We're excited about Earthpark's potential for highlighting environmental issues domestically and globally," he said. "Few Iowans realize how powerful Earthpark will be as a destination attraction, bringing people of all ages to our state."

The selection of a site for Earthpark is expected in September during the next board of directors meeting. No board meetings are scheduled during the summer vacation season.

Earthpark will include a large 600,000 gallon freshwater aquarium, exterior prairie and wetland exhibits, an indoor rain forest biome and galleries on global environmental science issues. Sophisticated green technologies and demonstrations of how such innovations can benefit the economy and environment will also be seen by visitors. Earthpark will feature sustainable design and materials, and will use alternative and renewable energy systems.

This spring, Earthpark officials announced that Siemens, one of the world's largest technology and engineering companies, will provide Earthpark with products, services and design input. "This is an exciting concept that has proven its global relevance and value in the U.K.," said Ken Cornelius, head of Siemens One, Inc., the sales organization for Siemens USA. "This is the time for a substantial, provocative environmental learning center in the United States."

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.

Other companies involved with planning the project include KUD International of Los Angeles, Weitz of Des Moines and Turner Construction of Atlanta. Specific plans and technologies will be announced at a later date.

Construction of Earthpark will begin in 2007, with a construction and start up budget of approximately $150-155 million. It is slated to open during the 2009 2010 school year.

The design partner for Earthpark is Grimshaw Architects of London and New York. Grimshaw was the principal architect for the Eden Project in Cornwall, U.K., the only other environmental facility similar to what Earthpark will become. Eden generates approximately $250 million in economic activity in Cornwall annually.

Earthpark's economic lift to Iowa has been conservatively measured at $130 million per year.

Earthpark is organized as a not for profit entity, governed by a 24-person board of directors chaired by former Iowa Governor Robert Ray. Business leaders, educators, scientists, philanthropists and former state government leaders serve on the Earthpark Board.

Earthpark's education elements have been mapped by a national Education Design Team. A Science Team has begun forming recommendations for appropriate research opportunities at Earthpark.

Additional information on Earthpark is available from its website, www.earthpark.org.

Earthpark will create 500 construction jobs for three years, more than 150 permanent jobs and some 2,000 indirect jobs, according to a press release from the organization.