Seven Maytag buildings donated to DMACC

Seven former Maytag corporate campus buildings are being donated to DMACC by developer Reza Kargarzadeh.

The donation is worth about $9 million in real estate, structures, utilities and furniture and includes about 472,000 feet of office, industrial and residential space. Buildings 1, 2, 16, 17, 18, 20 and 50 will join the main DMACC building and the Career Academy as part of the college's Newton presence.

Preliminary plans call for DMACC to utilize the buildings as traditional office and industrial park space for businesses and other educational partners, student housing, space for new DMACC programs and a business incubator for startup companies offering move-in ready space.

Gov. Terry Branstad is in Newton as part of a news conference to announce the donation.

"On behalf of DMACC and the greater Newton community, I want to express my thanks and appreciation to Reza Kargarzadeh for this generous gift," Branstad said in a prepared statement. "This announcement offers benefits for years to come. Mr. Kargarzadeh is a visionary, as well as a philanthropist."

The campus has few tenants since the Whirlpool corporation left Newton about nine years ago. The buildings are among the last structures in Newton that bear the Maytag Corporation's name.

Frank Liebl, executive director of the Newton Development Corporation, said the acquisition of the building allows DMACC to partner with local schools and businesses in many ways, in addition to what the college has already done for years with its main Newton building and the Career Academy.

"There are an array of possibilities at this campus," Liebl said. "Together, we want to see this campus come alive again. At one time, 2,000 people worked in those buildings. Our long-term goal is to make that number 2,001 — either being educated there or working there."

Kargarzadeh is a Grinnell businessman who is the president and founder of Engineered Plastic Components, Inc. City of Newton Director of Finance and Development Bryan Friedman said Kargarzadeh has done a superb job of maintaining the buildings while vacant, going so far as to run the air conditioning to help prevent mold from forming. Kargarzadeh bought the property in 2012 for only $1, but absorbed about $2 million each year in "carrying costs," in addition to paying about 50 percent of annual taxes on the property, due to a rebate agreement with the city.

"My family and I wanted to make an important contribution to the college," Kargarzadeh said. "The campus is in excellent shape, as we've made a number of improvements over the last few years. My hope is we'll see academic programs and new businesses locating in Newton."

Kargarzadeh paid about $78,000 in property taxes this year. While the city won't have that direct tax revenue in the years ahead, the two businesses that are currently in campus buildings — Aureon and Health Enterprises — will remain and will be assessed and taxed, as will all businesses that move into the campus later.

The seven buildings include the former Maytag Building 18 — the tallest, most visible office building in the campus, located directly against West Fourth Street North. It also includes Building 20, which has the circle drive off of West Fourth Street North, Buildings 16 and 17, office buildings that are behind Building 18; Buildings 1 and 2, where the Innovation Center and other first-floor facilities are located, and Building 50, which is strictly for mechanical equipment.

While the donation solves the issue of having an iconic, prominent structure in central Newton no longer as simply a reminder of what Maytag was and how things ended, it will also fit well into the nine principles of the city's comprehensive plan that involve K-12 or higher education.

"This is so exciting," Friedman said. "This taps into that same kind of entrepreneurial spirit that led this campus being constructed in the first place. There is so much that could go on here."

DMACC board chair and Newton resident Joe Pugel said Maytag was instrumental in helping create the Newton DMACC campus almost 25 years ago.

"The history of DMACC and Maytag are closely connected," Pugel said. "Now, it seems fitting Maytag's former facilities will become part of the college and will be the place where new businesses will be created and a new generation of workers will be trained."

Liebl said there is space DMACC could use as dormitories as well, similar to what the college has at its Ankeny and Boone campuses.

Both Friedman or Liebl said the types of businesses that could end up partnering with DMACC at the center could range from start-ups developed on-site to relocated, established firms looking to integrate college students or interns in direct settings.

"As businesses throughout the greater Des Moines metro area succeed and grow, and look to expand, this could be a good destination for them," Friedman said.

Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com