Meet Bryce Johnson, Indianola’s new community and economic development director

A Johnston native, Bryce Johnson is familiar with the Des Moines metro, and has chosen to pursue his career in public service in the area where he grew up. A self-professed foodie who tries to get to Cyclone and Green Bay Packer games when he can, Johnson said he learned the importance of public service from his parents, who both were teachers, and from his experience doing community service projects as a member of the Greek community at Iowa State University. 

After graduation, Johnson, 33, and his wife moved to Galveston, Texas, but when they had children they decided to return to Iowa to be near family. He worked as a zoning administrator in Pella and later for the city of West Des Moines, first as a planner in development services and then as a business development coordinator in economic development. 

Johnson started his new role with Indianola on Sept 15. He said the city provides opportunity for both commercial and residential growth, and he believes it will become more of a player in the fast-growing Des Moines metro.

This Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

What were the inspirations that led you to pursue a career in public service?

Both my parents are schoolteachers. My mom was in Des Moines Public Schools for over 30 years. My dad was in Johnston for over 30 years. Just that sense of community and civic duty really resonated with me. When I was at Iowa State, I was in the Greek community, so I was part of Iowa State’s 100th homecoming celebration. I was on the homecoming committee and then I was on the Greek Week Committee. It was really cool to have that community purpose. I was actually an architecture major first, but as I started to get more involved in communities and better understand local government, and then my parents’ ties to public service, that all kind of spurred me to go into this.

What about this role in Indianola interested you?

I think of the word opportunity. It was in my 10-year plan to get a director’s role, especially somewhere in the metro. I grew up coming here a lot playing basketball, either in college or in high school. I have familiarity with the community here and when I saw the opportunity come up, I felt like it fit perfectly with my long-term plan. So that was a professional goal of mine, but when I came down and was going through the interview process, I saw cornfields that are ripe for development. The city owns several buildings and sites that are ripe for redevelopment. I’m in a unique position where I lead both community development and economic development to make sure we’re all rowing in the same direction. So having that ability to really steer the boat in that direction, I think that’s going to be beneficial for the community long term, and it was a big factor in taking the job.

What goals do you have for the city in your new role?

One of my first goals was establishing what’s called the Business Retention and Expansion Program, where we go out and meet with our existing businesses and see how they’re doing and how the city can partner with them, identify potential growth opportunities, or if they’re looking to relocate, how can we get before them to learn those things and maybe help them. We’re trying to streamline our development process and get applicants in early and have those conversations about what’s required to make their plans come to fruition. We’ve implemented a pre-application process where you know before you submit a formal application what they need and how our process works. Also, from an economic development perspective, I really want the metro developers and builders to come down here. There’s a perception that Indianola is so far away, but if you just take the drive here, it’s really not.

What opportunities exist for development in Indianola?

Right now we have proposed improvements, including mixed-use, commercial or residential. Whether that be retail strip centers or a variety of housing options. A lot of that is occurring. A lot of the residential growth is out east. Several plans out there are coming through for residential opportunities out there. And then we’re working on another master-plan development. It’s been in the pipeline for several years, but it kind of went quiet as we went through some turnover in my department, but now those conversations have picked back up. That project is probably a $25 to $30 million project. Something that’s in our hopper right now is the Summer Crest and Emerald Bay developments up north. The foundation of the Summer Crest development is the basketball facility. It’s on a smaller scale of the All Iowa Attack building [in Waukee]. There’s been a lot of interest in development around there. Then Emerald Bay, there is another residential development we’re working on there. So there are a lot of opportunities here that our local developers are taking advantage of, but the strategy I’m trying to achieve is, I’m going to be shouting from the rooftops the opportunities we have down here.

What would you consider an early win for you?

One of the things I brought with me from West Des Moines, rather than going before the full council at a meeting and hashing all the details there, we have streamlined the process. We have adopted a community and economic development subcommittee where we have just two council members and the mayor, so we bring developers there for an informal conversation. I think that’s helped our economic development process, especially when we start talking about incentives and things of that nature.

What would you consider to be hidden gems of Indianola?

The first one is our workforce development opportunities. It’s unique that we have Simpson College where we have around 1,500 undergrads, but also the other opportunity is the Midwest Line School, a trade school for linemen. Where we have those two opportunities for workforce development is a huge benefit for our community. The other is Winn’s Pizza and Steakhouse. They’ve won the Iowa State Fair best food for the last two years, and when I first started, I didn’t know they were here. I just stumbled upon it. And for an event that draws millions of people a year to the Des Moines area, that should be celebrated. I don’t think most people know how much there is to do in Indianola. We’re 25 minutes from downtown Des Moines but we’re 5 minutes from everywhere else.

What role do you see Indianola play in the overall growth of the metro?

I think sooner rather than later it’s going to be a more metro community. I’m going to lean on our workforce development opportunities. Finding workers is a big thing. When you bring in a prospect, it’s ‘What workforce development opportunities do you have?’ And that’s where Indianola can shine. Also, come down here for the space. When you come here and see what you can get for your money it will definitely bring a lot of quality of life amenities people are looking for. We’re close to Des Moines and those amenities but far from the congestion, and I’m trying to figure out how to market that to the development community.

At a glance

Hometown: Waukee

Family: Married, two children, a 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter

Education: Bachelor’s degree in community and regional planning from Iowa State University

Activities: Cooking, sports and activities with his wife and children.

Contact: [email protected]