DES MOINES, IA | Development Thread - Page 6

DMRyan · #**101** Posted **Mar 8, 2021, 10:41 PM**

This high-end midrise condo project is now under construction in one of DSM's old-money neighborhoods after hitting a 70% presale threshold. This project will also utilize portions of a historic stone church building as its common space/amenity area. Some of the condos on the top floors will be quite expensive for DSM prices.

And this apartment project should get started this spring immediately north of the condo tower shown above.

DMRyan · #**102** Posted **Mar 11, 2021, 5:19 AM**

Updates on the new Federal Courthouse being constructed on the downtown riverfront.

DMRyan · #**103** Posted **Apr 12, 2021, 3:53 AM**

Plans have been announced to build a $75 million, 6,300 seat soccer stadium for a new USL team (Triple A professional soccer team) on the southern end of downtown. Perhaps even more exciting is the $525 million in redevelopment that the owner and developer of the soccer team is looking to invest around and in the neighborhood near the proposed stadium over the next decade. The ownership group is affiliated with the owners of the Kum and Go Convenience store chain, which is based in DSM and had relocated their HQ from the burbs to downtown a few years back, but are well-heeled to take this on and have a track record of quality.

The $$$ for the stadium is contingent on some state funding, which the city is supposed to find out the status of within the next few months. These renderings are largely conceptual now but give a flavor for the scale of redevelopment, which is one of 3 very large redevelopment districts underway downtown.

The project would also check the box of removing the biggest eyesore in town, the abandoned DICO factory, which is an EPA superfund site shown in the foreground below.

Here's the conceptual renderings for the stadium:

Master planned development around the stadium. This is supposed to include some entertainment areas, mixed-use downtown development, public plaza space, and a parking ramp.

New hotel (someday)

Mixed-Use with grocery store tenant on first floor

2500 seat concert venue

This redevelopment would also include some additional real estate holdings in the Western Gateway area of Downtown Des Moines.

Renovation of former car showroom to a brewery

DMRyan · #**104** Posted **Dec 5, 2021, 4:29 PM**

Construction of infrastructure and site prep is underway on the large-scale Market District redevelopment project, which is slated to transform a largely industrial area into a new extension of downtown. Work will continue in prepping the land for some vertical development to happen in late 2022/2023.

http://www.marketdistrictdm.com/

The city's Public Works compound is currently in the area, but will be moving out next summer to make way for redevelopment. Most of the rest of the non-historic buildings in the area will be demolished. Here's the infrastructure progress so far.

And there is a small scattering of historic buildings in the area that will be saved. Here are the two most recent rehabs; one is an old oil company building that will be the home of a brewery, office space and 4 upper story apartments. The other is the restoration of a former train depot that will house a local consortium of historic preservation groups. They've added a new event center space onto the depot to help cash flow their operations.

https://www.bnim.com/project/des-moines-heritage-center

DMRyan · #**105** Posted **Jan 1, 2022, 5:49 PM**

At the moment, this looks like the 2022 crop of downtown housing projects. The list is down slightly from prior years as the city chews through the absorption of units in the pre-covid downtown housing boom. Downtown residential occupancy is in the low to mid 90% range and has fared relatively well. Would expect to see some new announcements for future projects this year, since there isn't as much in the immediate development pipeline as there used to be.

Under construction now:

Level Apartments- Bridge District- 114 units

https://slingshotarchitecture.com/work/level/

https://content.app-us1.com/qmbBk/20...g?r=1228689162

Slate Apartments- 132 units of upscale 55+ housing, Gray's Landing Redevelopment

https://www.sherman-associates.com/p...ng/case-study/

Built in the weedy patch in the center between the rowhomes and the other ~4-5 story apartment buildings. This is former reclaimed industrial land that will be filled with thousands of new housing units when it's said and done.

Expected to start in 2022:

317 E. 6th Street- 110 units, East Village

https://heartofamericagroup.com/the-lab/

13th and Mulberry- 75 units

https://cms2files.revize.com/desmoin...=1636750428552

Meridian Apartments- 169 Units, Gray's Landing Redevelopment

Delayed by Covid but expected to start in late 2022:

418 E. Grand- Previously had 105 units, but the developer will likely be opting to rejigger the proposal to remove some 2nd-floor office space and more residential units- East Village

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...ing/462028002/

DMRyan · #**106** Posted **Jan 7, 2022, 7:52 PM**

A look at some of the other non-downtown urban mixed-use/housing projects underway throughout the city proper. Construction photos by me.

Under Construction:

3750 Grand Avenue- New High-End Condo Building

The James- $34 million, 56 unit upscale boutique apartments

Sixth Avenue Flats- 42 units of affordable housing, live-work units on first floor

Canary Lofts (just completed)-135 unit apartment building, first floor retail

Elevate Townhomes- 18 rowhomes on a bluff overlooking downtown

Des Moines Business Record

Proposed to start in 2022

Merge at Drake- 1st phase of a $63 million mixed-use project in the Drake University Campustown area, 116 units, ground floor retail

Des Moines Register

Center at 6th- 32 apartments, 7 retail bays along the 6th Avenue corridor in River Bend

Des Moines Register

Pinnacle on Fleur- 20 luxury townhomes on infill site just south of downtown

Pinnacle on Fleur

Oaks on Grand Townhomes- 12 luxury townhomes on urban corridor west of downtown

Des Moines Register

DMRyan · #**107** Posted **Jan 7, 2022, 7:59 PM**

The $140 new federal courthouse is largely enclosed along the downtown riverfront and is expected to be completed late in 2022. Here's a few update photos I took back in mid-November. It's a little ho-hum architecturally, but they can't build them like they used to.

This will free up the historic federal courthouse building on the other side of the riverfront for a new, yet undetermined use.

Manitopiaaa · #**108** Posted **Jan 7, 2022, 9:53 PM**

Had no clue Des Moines was booming so much. According to Census data, Des Moines is on track to have a 1 million+ CSA by 2030.

twister244 · #**109** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 12:30 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manitopiaaa

Had no clue Des Moines was booming so much. According to Census data, Des Moines is on track to have a 1 million+ CSA by 2030.

I wouldn't say it's "booming", but it's got a great level of healthy growth on all fronts. The kind of ideal growth you want where it's not becoming unaffordable for anyone, but it's still churning out great infill.

Thanks the update DMRyan! Always great to see my birth city doing well. Now if DSM could just get a new tallest....

LouisVanDerWright · #**110** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 4:38 AM**

DSM is the fastest growing metro in the Midwest, it absolutely is booming.

The difference is DSM has a pragmatic approach to urban planning and tons of space. It's not getting expensive because there is land and it's legal to build lots of units on said land. I'm absolutely looking to invest there in the near future as my wife grew up there and the fundamentals of the metro are fantastic.

twister244 · #**111** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 5:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

DSM is the fastest growing metro in the Midwest, it absolutely is booming.

The difference is DSM has a pragmatic approach to urban planning and tons of space. It's not getting expensive because there is land and it's legal to build lots of units on said land. I'm absolutely looking to invest there in the near future as my wife grew up there and the fundamentals of the metro are fantastic.

According to Wikipedia:
2000 population - 198,682
2010 population - 203,433
2020 population - 214,133

Sorry, but I don't consider this "booming". Denver is booming and grew over 19% between 2010 and 2020 with a growth of over 100k residents. Austin grew from 790k to 961k from 2010 to 2020....

Des Moines is a great city. I grew up there. It has a lot of potential to continue to be a magnet for talent and business. But.... I hardly call it booming. I also wouldn't say it has tons of land to develop on. It's like any other midwest city where it has lots in the inner city that can be developed upon, but not large swaths of land.

Again, great great city. I love seeing these updates on occasion. I would love to see an actual boom happen there in the future, but it's not there yet. But that's not a bad thing. It means that we have an amazing midwest city, flying under the radar a bit, that is extremely affordable for people who want a great mid-sized city to raise kids in.

DMRyan · #**112** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 3:11 PM**

Never mind a new tallest, we'll settle for just a skyscraper! We've had 3 credible proposals over the last 5 years evaporate. Two of which are covered on this thread, the 3rd never really saw the light of day, but an insurance company was planning a tower right before COVID hit but changed course when work from home trends caused them to reduce their space needs.

Here's the consolation prize the city is getting where this company was going to build, a new urban park that the company is paying for in lieu of making the property tax-exempt.

This same insurance company is also selling The Hub Tower spec office building and Kalidescope Mall (former downtown mall built in the 1980's), as well as what really represents one of the two last brick warehouse buildings downtown that hasn't already been converted to other uses. The warehouse buildings already have a pending purchase agreement for conversion to another use.

https://images1.loopnet.com/i2/obNEO.../112/image.jpg

DMRyan · #**113** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 3:36 PM**

Twister, I believe LouisVanDerWright is probably referring to the metro population, which is the 2nd fastest-growing on a percentage basis in the midwest, only after Sioux Falls. The city itself has been slower to grow than the suburbs for sure, largely due to the perception/reality of the Des Moines school district in comparison with the suburban communities that offer top-notch public education. However, without question, this is a small metro that's on an ascent to the next level in the coming decades. The small growing metro of Ames, which is about 30 miles north of DSM, is also becoming more intertwined and adds another 100k in population to the mix in the region.

2000 MSA Population: 481,394
2010 MSA Population: 606,475
2020 MSA Population: 709,466, +16.98%

2020 CSA Population w/Ames: 890,322

This swath of the country, more specifically the cities of Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, Omaha, DSM and KC are all seeing really good population growth that is rather uncharacteristic of much of the rest of the Midwest further east, with few exceptions like Madison, Indy, Columbus.

LouisVanDerWright, if you're looking to invest in a development project or build within the City of DSM, send me a PM. Through my day job, I may be able to assist you.

LouisVanDerWright · #**114** Posted **Jan 8, 2022, 6:10 PM**

Bingo, the metro is what I am talking about. The growth of DSM from 2000 to 2010 was nearly 30%, from 2000 to 2020 it grew over 45%, that's "booming" territory by any definition, especially when you consider it's in the Midwest where most cities are shrinking.

And yes, my goal has been to buy a dilapidated apartment in Sherman Hill (few remaining) or an old industrial property and do adaptive reuse (again few remaining) eventually. Ultimately it's going to have to be new construction to do what I want to do. I would love to leave a mark on downtown DSM for our family. There's a lot of nice infill going in, but you could easily take it to the next level if you aren't trying to squeeze every last drop of profit out of it.

jkill34 · #**115** Posted **Jan 10, 2022, 7:33 PM**

Urbandale and Ankeny are IMO some of the best suburbs in America. A lot of land to develop on and the development is thought-out, rather than just development for development purposes. I also love the growth that Des Moines is seeing. It absolutely deserves more attention than it often gets.

Count me in to invest into Des Moines sooner rather than later.

edale · #**116** Posted **Jan 10, 2022, 7:54 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkill34

Urbandale and Ankeny are IMO some of the best suburbs in America.

After reading this, I was excited to check out these places on streetview. No offense, but they look like incredibly average to below average suburbs. Far from the best burbs in the US. What makes these places great to you?

llamaorama · #**117** Posted **Jan 11, 2022, 2:19 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by edale

After reading this, I was excited to check out these places on streetview. No offense, but they look like incredibly average to below average suburbs. Far from the best burbs in the US. What makes these places great to you?

Yeah agreed.

I had to think pretty hard to remember that I in fact have been to Des Moines. Actually I drove through there and we stopped around Clive or whatever its called to get McDonalds. It was that forgettable.

twister244 · #**118** Posted **Jan 11, 2022, 3:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMRyan

Twister, I believe LouisVanDerWright is probably referring to the metro population, which is the 2nd fastest-growing on a percentage basis in the midwest, only after Sioux Falls. The city itself has been slower to grow than the suburbs for sure, largely due to the perception/reality of the Des Moines school district in comparison with the suburban communities that offer top-notch public education. However, without question, this is a small metro that's on an ascent to the next level in the coming decades. The small growing metro of Ames, which is about 30 miles north of DSM, is also becoming more intertwined and adds another 100k in population to the mix in the region.

2000 MSA Population: 481,394
2010 MSA Population: 606,475
2020 MSA Population: 709,466, +16.98%

2020 CSA Population w/Ames: 890,322

This swath of the country, more specifically the cities of Minneapolis, Sioux Falls, Omaha, DSM and KC are all seeing really good population growth that is rather uncharacteristic of much of the rest of the Midwest further east, with few exceptions like Madison, Indy, Columbus.

LouisVanDerWright, if you're looking to invest in a development project or build within the City of DSM, send me a PM. Through my day job, I may be able to assist you.

Ok, fair enough. In that sense, yes, you could say it's booming.

Maybe just in a different way than what we are seeing in other hot cities across the country. Either way, still a very healthy metro that doesn't have housing costs spiraling out of control.