Rock Rapids — A five-million-dollar expansion project is nearing completion at a Rock Rapids-based engineering firm. But COVID-19 means any ribbon cutting or open house will be postponed.
Marlin Overman is the Vice President and CFO at DGR Engineering’s headquarters in Rock Rapids. The firm also has offices in Sioux Falls, Sioux City, and Ankeny, but the majority of their employees work in Rock Rapids. He tells us what DGR does.
(as said:) “DGR Engineering is a professional services company. We offer a wide range of engineering and land surveying services including airport design and planning, civil design and field services for civil type projects, electrical power design, geographical information system services, as well as the design of water and wastewater systems.”
Overman tells us that while they’re always looking for new services they could provide, the expansion project is not necessitated by the addition of any services per se, rather, it will help them meet the growing needs of existing and potential customers.
According to Overman, the expansion project will almost double their current space.
(as said:) “This building expansion project is adding a little over 21,000 square feet in total. That’s consisting mostly of additional offices and other employee workspaces. Our current or existing building was about 29,000 feet total prior to this expansion. So this expansion does represent a pretty significant increase in our total overall footprint here in Rock Rapids.”
Overman says they are receiving an incentive from the City of Rock Rapids.
(as said:) “We do have a tax increment financing agreement with the City of Rock Rapids for tax rebates of a portion of the incremental real estate taxes that we will be paying as a result of the increased building valuation. And for that, we’re thankful for the City of Rock Rapids and their leadership and encouragement for our project. We also had a TIF when we built this original building and moved in in 2001. So that’s really consistent with previous practice in that regard for the city’s encouragement of our business here in Rock Rapids.“
He tells us the project is nearing completion at this time.
(as said:) “Contractors are working on some finishing touches. Furnishings are being installed as we speak. So we intend to begin occupying the space by the end of this month. There will be some ongoing items needing to be completed such as some landscaping work and some additional exterior work, but we plan to be fully utilizing the space by the end of the month.”
He says they’re pleased that the facility is about ready for occupancy.
(as said:) “We’re very excited about our business in general and excited to begin utilizing the new facilities; as I think are all our employees, you know, we’re happy to invest in Rock Rapids where our company was founded in 1952 and have enjoyed Rock Rapids as our corporate home for all those years.”
According to Overman, some of the approximately 45 employees that DGR will be adding have been hired already, but it will take several years to add them all. He says most of the positions will be engineering graduates and professionals, with some support staff as well. They are continually accepting applications, according to Overman, and he says if you’d like to see the positions that they’re currently hiring for, visit their website at dgr.com.
