Fueling your community’s future

Heartland partners with engineering firm to offer municipal planning assistance

Heartland is always looking for new ways to help communities maximize their potential and ensure a prosperous road ahead.

The latest is a partnership with architecture and engineering firm ISG, giving Heartland customers access to cost-effective municipal capital improvement planning (CIP) and development park master planning (DPMP) services. Cities may also utilize Heartland’s economic development grant program to help cover the cost of implementation.

“It’s extremely important to plan ahead, but strategic municipal planning is complex and time-consuming,” said Heartland Director of Economic Development & Governmental Affairs Casey Crabtree. “Our partnership with ISG will help our customers create sustainable, healthy communities for future generations both efficiently and affordably.”

While CIP and DPMP are the two core focus areas, ISG will work with each community individually and stand as a partner alongside Heartland to identify unique opportunities and custom-fit solutions.

Municipal Capital Improvement Planning

Day-to-day municipal activity leaves little time to plan for the future. A CIP can help a community stay ahead of the curve on facility, technology, and infrastructure improvements and maintenance.

“We want to help communities simplify their goals and make important projects a reality,” said ISG Development Strategist Steve Watson. “We’ll provide assistance with identifying and prioritizing future projects and potential funding sources.”

Integrating community improvement projects into a city’s greater CIP plan, ISG will help ensure overall capital improvement schedules, financial plans and other planning efforts are aligned and can be managed holistically.

Key Opportunities:

• Equipment + Technology, such as vehicles, computers or software
• Public Facilities, including water/wastewater treatment plants, wells, city halls, community centers, libraries, garages and other city-owned structures
• Infrastructure, such as municipal water, sanitary sewer, storm sewer, reuse systems, streets, walkways, traffic signs and signals, parking facilities, street lighting and more
• 10-year Electrical System Study (optional)

Planning and Documentation

• Capital Improvement Worksheets, emphasizing all of a community’s projects
• Project Priority List, providing clear phasing and fiscal scheduling that sets a realistic and efficient timetable for project completion
• Potential Public Assistance Programs, identifying grants and loans outside of Heartland to reduce cost or fund projects
• Effect on the City’s Debt Capacity, offering accurate estimates of project impacts unique to your community

Development Park Master Planning

In today’s competitive market, businesses are extremely selective on where to invest. Through DPMP, communities can offer a clear development pathway and help their development opportunities stand out amongst a crowded playing field.

“A master plan provides key information and a refined vision to potential developers, businesses and other real estate professionals,” said Watson. “It can help attract the right parties to a project of importance to the community.”

Key Opportunities

• Park Assessment, identifying a location’s strengths and potential challenges to create an overall vision for the park, complete with recommended uses and a customized plan
• Drone Filming, providing highly accurate, high-definition video captured, edited and made available in multiple formats for easy access
• Marketing Package, including a cohesive campaign across a variety of print and digital mediums to market the community and development
• Master Plan + Visualization, determining desired uses based on market analysis, demographic trends and face-to-face engagement meetings and featuring detailed renderings and advanced 3D visualizations

Partners in Progress

Heartland has found an enthusiastic collaborator in ISG, a full-service architecture, engineering, environmental and planning firm, thanks in part to an established working relationship with Watson.

An economic development practitioner and former director of business development for the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Watson has long been familiar with Heartland’s progressive economic development approach.

“Heartland is committed to being a catalyst for growth,” said Watson. “I’m excited about this new avenue to partner with them to bring additional value to the communities they serve.”

Watson, ISG and Heartland most recently collaborated on the Hillcrest Industrial Park in Colman, SD, which has helped the community raise its profile and create a vision for future development.