Edible Garden announced July 23, 2025, it had signed a one-year renewable lease on the former Natural Shrimp building at 401 Des Moines St., Webster City. That news was quietly released to a small group of economic development and finance professionals, going largely unnoticed in Webster City.

The story gained local importance when a resolution supporting EG’s application for a $2.6 million Iowa Economic Development Authority grant appeared on the City Council of Webster City’s April 6 agenda.

Built in 1991 by Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Kenco Group, the 270,000-square-foot building at 401 Des Moines St. warehoused and shipped Frigidaire laundry appliances through 2009. It sat empty until 2014, when it was acquired by Vero Blue Farms, which converted it to sustainable seafood production using technology developed by local farmers Mark and Jeff Nelson. In January, 2021, Natural Shrimp bought the building from Vero Blue.

For this article, the Freeman Journal interviewed Margaret Ritter, of Steadfast City, a site selection and economic development firm hired by EG, and Ottie Maxey, Ames Regional Economic Alliance. Ritter has worked in economic development since 2010; Maxey joined the Ames Alliance in 2023.

Many aspects to site selection

Ritter explained before a company opens a new office, factory, or distribution center, it must consider many variables. These include the local workforce; water, wastewater, electricity and internet utilities; transportation both of inbound raw materials, and outbound finished product; state and local taxes; and, crucially, incentives, grants and tax credits.

“Webster City has been so incredibly welcoming, including Mayor John Hawkins, City Manager John Harrenstein, and city council,” Ritter said.

She singled out the work of Ottie Maxey, director of economic development at the Ames Regional Economic Alliance. “He’s thoroughly professional; just very good at what he does.”

Although based in Ames, Maxey is in Webster City or elsewhere in Hamilton County nearly every day. He’s often at City Council meetings, has joined the Webster City Rotary Club, and was an early morning volunteer at Junquefest, this year. He’s the driving force behind the formation and operation of the Hamilton County Growth Partnership, which, in less than two years, has become the unifying force in both economic and community development here. Speaking of Maxey’s work on the EG site selection, City Manager of Webster City, John Harrenstein, said, “Ottie bird-dogged every detail of this deal.”

Site Selection is Always Competitive

How did EG select Webster City for its new factory? That was the question we put to both Ritter and Maxey.

“We evaluated several potential locations for this project,” Ritter confirmed. Sites already owned by EG in New Jersey, and especially, Grand Rapids, were clear candidates for expansion. But there would be little synergy between EG’s present operations in New Jersey and Michigan, which are large greenhouses, and a Webster City manufacturing facility.

She suggested other, unspecified sites were probably considered, but didn’t name them.

“It’s always a competitive process. Many variables go into a final decision,” she said.

“The company’s need to get to market quickly, and availability of a building on favorable terms in Webster City, were key to our success,” said Maxey

We began this story with the lease of the Natural Shrimp building to EG, by its owners.

Streeterville Capital LLC, St. George, UT., for $1 per month. The generous terms were yet another incentive for EG. Ritter confirmed EG is now negotiating to buy the building outright.

Incentives for EG to come to Webster City, including a $2.6 million dollar grant from Iowa Economic Development Authority, and up to $6.6 million in TIF funds from Webster City, met the company’s requirements. Speaking of this, Maxey said, ” we knew the target we had to hit to make Webster City competitive.”

Factory Details Beginning to Emerge

Details about the nature of Edible Garden’s Webster City factory are slowly emerging. A press release from EG describes its future Webster City factory as a ready-to-drink Tetra Pak facility, and a clean nutrition manufacturing hub. Designed to be a high-capacity, automated production plant they will manufacture shelf-stable RTD nutritional beverages.

EG announced June 16 that it has hired Structura Architects, of Akron, Ohio to help it plan the factory floorplan, specify equipment and ensure it can produce the volume and quality levels required.

Expect to see more activity at 401 Des Moines St. very soon. Ritter told The Daily Freeman Journal, “demolition at the site should start in early July.”