Monday, September 15, 2025
Read the Digital Magazines Subscribe to the Magazines
Subscribe

Iowa

IowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Cedar Rapids Continues Unprecedented Growth

by Kristin Harlow

By Scott Olson, Skogman Commercial Each year when I update exciting growth in Iowa’s second largest city, it is hard to imagine the pace can continue despite what we hear nationally about high interest rates, tariffs and inflation. Plus, this great city adapts after natural disasters to quickly recover and create a better place to work and call home. Our latest national rankings reflect this effort, skill and dedication: • No. 1 city for affordable housing in America (WalletHub, 2025) • No. 3 best place to live in the Midwest (Spacewise, 2025) • No. 12 best city for economic opportunity (U.S. News & World Report, 2025) • No. 4 city with most affordable rent (WalletHub, 2025) • No. 17 best city to buy a house in America (Niche.com, 2025) • A top 100 best city for jobs in America (WalletHub, 2025) • A top 100 best place to retire in America (Niche.com, 2025) • No. 7 safest city in America (WalletHub, 2025) • No. 33 best run city in America (WalletHub 2024, top 40 ranking since 2017) In fall 2024, the City of Cedar Rapids was selected to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard Innovation Track as a continuation of the …

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
IowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Investment from Tech Companies, Developers Shows Potential of Quad Cities

by Kristin Harlow

By Chris Beason, NAI Ruhl Commercial Co. As we move through 2025, the commercial real estate market in the Quad Cities region continues to adjust to tighter capital markets, rising costs and evolving consumer and business preferences. The bi-state region of the Quad Cities includes Moline, East Moline and Rock Island, Illinois; and Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, as the main core cities. The Quad Cities is the largest metro area between St. Louis and Minneapolis on the Mississippi River. When you look at the fundamentals like industrial absorption, land sales and retail demand, the Quad Cities continues to outperform expectations. The level of investment we’re seeing from both global tech companies and regional developers shows long-term confidence in the strength and potential of our market. Pivotal year for industrial The Quad Cities market mirrored the national trends with increased development of industrial buildings and rising rental rates. While the new industrial development we have seen locally over the past three years is to be celebrated, there is still a shortage of smaller 10,000- to 50,000-square-foot buildings. This is especially true for companies that desire to purchase real estate. There is significantly more inventory for lease of smaller product available than …

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
AcquisitionsIowaMidwestMultifamily

CBRE Brokers Sale of 1,610-Unit Apartment Portfolio in Metro Des Moines

by Kristin Harlow

DES MOINES, IOWA — CBRE has brokered the sale of the Wings 914 Portfolio, a collection of six multifamily properties totaling 1,610 units in metro Des Moines. The transaction marks the largest multifamily deal ever recorded in the state of Iowa, according to CBRE. Cy Fox, Matt Bukhshstaber, Ray Hamilton and Clark Matthews of CBRE represented the undisclosed seller, which directed a significant portion of the assets to charitable causes through the National Christian Foundation. The properties were built between 1988 and 2015. Further details were not provided.

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
AcquisitionsHealthcareIowaMidwestMinnesota

Davis Purchases Two-Building Healthcare Portfolio in Iowa, Minnesota for $34.1M

by Kristin Harlow

CORALVILLE, IOWA, AND MAPLEWOOD, MINN. — Davis Healthcare, on behalf of its Davis Medical Investment Fund, has acquired a two-building healthcare real estate portfolio known as CoralBirch for $34.1 million. The assets are located in Coralville, Iowa, and Maplewood, Minn. More than 70 percent of the space in the buildings is leased to high-credit hospital systems. With this acquisition, the fund owns 17 off-campus ambulatory care buildings totaling more than 750,000 square feet. The Coralville West Medical Building at 2769 Heartland Ave. rises three stories and totals 60,351 square feet. It is situated near the University of Iowa campus. Davis acquired the property for $24.2 million, or roughly $400 per square foot. At closing, the building was 97 percent leased with more than 65 percent of the space occupied by University of Iowa Healthcare, which offers primary care and internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, imaging and rehab and dermatology services. Additional tenants of the building are medical practices focused on obstetrics, radiology and rehab. Constructed in 2010, the building’s common areas and restrooms were renovated in 2022. Birch Run Medical Building at 1747 Beam Ave. totals 27,944 square feet. Davis purchased the single-story property for $9.9 million, or roughly …

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
DevelopmentIowaMidwestRetail

Casino Queen Marquette in Iowa to Rebrand as Bally’s Marquette, Undergo $21M Transformation

by Kristin Harlow

MARQUETTE, IOWA — Casino Queen Marquette will be renamed Bally’s Marquette as part of its move to a newly developed permanent landside facility, set to open in early 2026. The name change will coincide with a $21 million transformation project, which includes relocating the gaming floor ashore and introducing new dining, gaming and entertainment experiences. The rebrand follows Bally’s Corp.’s acquisition of The Queen Casino & Entertainment Inc., the regional gaming company that owns Casino Queen Marquette. The merger was completed in early 2025. The long-standing Mississippi River casino has operated aboard a riverboat for more than 30 years. The transformation into Bally’s Marquette will create nearly 80 new jobs.

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
IowaLoansMidwestMinnesotaMultifamily

Dwight Capital Provides $61.9M in HUD-Insured Loans for Two Multifamily Communities in Iowa, Minnesota

by Kristin Harlow

BETTENDORF, IOWA, AND ST. PAUL, MINN. — Dwight Capital has provided two HUD 223(f) loans totaling $61.9 million for Springs at Bettendorf in Bettendorf, Iowa, and The Grove in St. Paul. Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based Continental Properties was the borrower. Springs at Bettendorf is a townhome-style community with 15 two-story buildings totaling 316 units. There are studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts, and 75 units feature attached garages. Residents have access to a fitness center, pool, dog park and car wash station.   The Grove is a six-story community with 118 units across studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts. Amenities include a fitness center, rooftop sky lounge, community room and storage units. The property also features 4,300 square feet of ground-floor commercial space across two retail suites. The loan proceeds for both financings will be used to retire existing debt, cover closing costs, complete repairs and establish funds for future capital expenditures.

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
IndustrialIowaMarket ReportsMidwestMidwest Market Reports

Des Moines Industrial Market Starts to Chip Away at Vacancies

by Kristin Harlow

By Harrison Kruse and Ned Turner, CBRE As we near the second half of 2025, the Des Moines industrial market is starting to see a shift in fundamentals, as new deliveries and the pipeline of new big-box speculative warehouse product have come to a complete halt.  Like many cities in the upper Midwest post-COVID, the Des Moines MSA saw an influx of out-of-state developers backed by institutional capital go ground up with new big-box product when the economy was stimulated by the Federal Reserve reducing the federal funds rate below 1 percent. This resulted in historically compressed treasury yields and an abundant amount of liquidity injected into the capital markets.  This effect on the national economy escalated consumer demand for e-commerce and locally, ag-related products, which are the state of Iowa’s most valuable export on an aggregate basis.  The Des Moines MSA between 2021 and 2024 had more than 6.8 million square feet of new industrial space delivered to the market, which is about 10.2 percent of the total market size on a square-foot basis. During those years, net absorption increased on an annual basis between 800,000 and 1.5 million square feet.  Pre-COVID, Des Moines’s average net absorption was between …

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
DevelopmentIowaMidwestRetail

Crunch Fitness Opens 60,000 SF Facility in Des Moines

by Kristin Harlow

DES MOINES, IOWA — Fitness Ventures LLC, the second largest Crunch Fitness franchisee, has opened its 60th Crunch Fitness with a new 60,000-square-foot facility in Des Moines. Located at 1200 E. Army Post Road, the new club is the company’s second Crunch location in Iowa. Built as a 3.0 Crunch model, the Des Moines location represents a $5 million investment. The club features cardio and strength equipment, a group fitness studio, dry saunas, performance turf, HydroMassage, tanning and the HIITZone. Fitness Ventures has partnered with Meaningful Partners, a private equity firm that invested in the company in 2024. The partnership has helped accelerate growth through a mix of new club development, mergers and acquisitions. Fitness Ventures is on pace to reach 75 clubs by the end of the year. The company plans to open 20 new locations annually.

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
IndustrialIowaLoansMidwest

Gantry Secures $20M Permanent Loan for Amazon Distribution Center in Iowa City

by Kristin Harlow

IOWA CITY, IOWA — Gantry has secured a $20 million permanent loan to refinance a renovated warehouse located at 2500 Heinz Road in Iowa City. The 346,062-square-foot distribution center is fully leased to Amazon for use as a regional delivery station serving the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City metropolitan areas. The facility occupies a nearly 40-acre site zoned for industrial use with parking, trailer storage and room for expansion. Tony Kaufmann and Joe Foley of Gantry represented the borrower, a private real estate investor. A credit union provided the 10-year, fixed-rate loan, which features partial interest-only payments and no prepayment penalties.

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
AcquisitionsIowaMidwestMissouriRetail

Hanley Investment Group Brokers Seven Retail Property Sales Totaling $18.4M

by Kristin Harlow

CORONA DEL MAR, CALIF. — Corona Del Mar-based Hanley Investment Group Real Estate Advisors has brokered the sales of seven net-leased retail properties totaling $18.4 million on behalf of a Minnesota-based 1031 exchange buyer. Jeff Lefko and Bill Asher of Hanley Investment Group represented the buyer in the transactions, which included a mix of newly constructed single-tenant and multi-tenant assets. Midwest transaction highlights include a 4,616-square-foot property occupied by Total Access Urgent Care in Oakville, Mo., and a 7 Brew ground lease in Des Moines, Iowa. Hanley Investment Group represented the buyer and sellers in association with John Shuff of Pace Properties and ParaSell Inc. for the Missouri and Iowa properties, respectively.  

Continue Reading
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts