Iowa

ANKENY, IOWA — The Opus Group plans to develop a 208,252-square-foot speculative industrial office and warehouse facility in Ankeny. The building will be the first built in the master plan for Corporate Woods Industrial Center, a 50-acre site that will accommodate up to three buildings totaling 600,000 square feet. The warehouse will offer 32-foot ceiling heights, ESFR sprinkler systems, LED lighting, up to 50 dock doors and 115 parking spaces with room for expansion. The building will be able to accommodate single- or multi-tenant occupancy. Construction will begin this month with completion scheduled for fall 2015. A joint venture partnership between Opus Development Co. LLC and Founders Properties LLC will own the property. Opus Development Co. will be the developer, Opus Design Build will be the design-builder and Opus AE Group will serve as the architect and engineer of record. Marcus Pitts and Justin Lossner with JLL will market the property for lease.

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DES MOINES, IOWA — The Weitz Co. has been selected to build the $101 million Iowa Events Center Hotel at Fifth Avenue and Park Street in Des Moines. The Iowa Events Center Hotel will include a build-out of a 330-room convention hotel, which will be connected to the Iowa Events Center, a multi-venue convention center and entertainment complex. Weitz will work with Des Moines-area architectural and engineering firms to complete the project.

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ANKENY, IOWA — NorthMarq Capital has arranged $7.3 million in refinancing for The Apartments at Prairie Lakes in Ankeny. The recently completed 92-unit multifamily property is located at 1603 Prairie Lakes Drive. Jason Kinnison of NorthMarq Capital’s Omaha office structured the fully amortizing 25-year term loan for the borrower through a life insurance company.

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Stand in the center of Des Moines, take a look in all directions and one will discern that retail growth is not discriminating. It’s occurring in all areas of the marketplace.That’s not surprising for a metro area of 600,000 that was recently named “America’s Wealthiest City” by NBC’s Today show as part of a special series titled “Healthy, Wealthy, Wise.” In 2013, Forbes magazine ranked Des Moines tops on its 15th annual list of “Best Places for Business And Careers.” Market statistics provide plenty of evidence. Occupancy in neighborhood retail centers has increased for three straight years, rising to 81.9 percent at the close of 2013. Leasing activity has been robust with more than 300,000 square feet of positive absorption during the past 12 months. Only a few big-box retail spaces are now available with occupancy rising to 97.5 percent in December 2013. Although growth is occurring in all areas, the Jordan Creek Town Center corridor continues to grab headlines. Hurd Real Estate continues construction on the 328,597-square-foot Plaza at Jordan Creek. In addition to Lowe’s and the recently opened Dick’s Sporting Goods, both HomeGoods and Nordstrom Rack are nearing completion. The Nordstrom lease is a significant milestone for Iowa …

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Things are happening downtown. A number of public and private initiatives are transforming downtown Des Moines from a place to work to a place where you can truly live, work and play. Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield recently moved into its new 600,000-square-foot LEED Platinum-certified office building fronting the John and Mary Pappajohn Sculpture Park, and Principal Financial announced a $250 million renovation of its existing downtown campus. In addition, EMC Insurance Cos. recently added to its downtown footprint by purchasing the Hub Tower and Kaleidoscope at the Hub, the centerpiece of the new Walnut Street transformation. Finally, Nationwide Insurance is firmly entrenched in its 1 million-square-foot campus building. New Home For YMCA Adding to the momentum is a three-way sale and trade fueled by a public/private partnership spearheaded by Des Moines real estate leader William C. Knapp, chairman emeritus of Knapp Properties. Included is an approximate $30 million project for a downtown Wellmark YMCA to be located in the former Polk County Convention Complex. According to The Des Moines Register, construction is expected to begin by year’s end on the YMCA’s new downtown home, which will include expanded recreational offices and a 50-meter, Olympic-sized swimming pool. YMCA supporters …

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In June 2008, Cedar Rapids experienced what at the time was the fifth worst disaster in U.S. history. A historic flood covered 10 square miles in the four core neighborhoods and the entire downtown, damaging more than 5,000 homes, over 1,000 businesses, and numerous public, cultural and religious facilities. Since that time, 1,088 residences have been demolished and 2,356 residential properties repaired or rehabilitated. Some 82 percent of the damaged businesses have reopened compared to a national average of 55 percent in previous major disasters. The scope of the recovery in just five years is remarkable. The numbers speak for themselves: • 1,311 new housing units completed since 2008; • 118 new multifamily units recently funded by state recovery grants; • 16 major city of Cedar Rapids facilities built or under construction with all to be finished by 2014; • building permits in 2012 totaled 11,000 with 1,300 commercial and 9,700 residential, which set a record of more than $400 million (63 percent from the private sector); • population growth of 4.6 percent in the last decade despite the June 2008 flood; • unemployment rate currently at 4.9 percent; • AAA bond rating by Moody’s for 41 consecutive years. The …

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Most retail brokers in Des Moines are cautiously optimistic in their expectations for 2013. For the first time in years, I’m seeing a lot of site plans for new retail developments come across my desk. Several projects that had been on the back burner for the last few years have finally begun to take shape. Des Moines, like most markets, got hurt when the Great Recession hit. However, with its major industry based in insurance, it weathered the storm better than many other markets. At its high point, the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, and the rate as of May was 4.3 percent. The Des Moines retail market didn’t get nearly as overbuilt as many of the other nearby larger markets. There wasn’t a ton of first-generation space that sat vacant on the retail market in Des Moines once the recession hit. Most of the retail developers here are conservative. Much of the first-generation space that sat vacant was the result of lenders taking back the properties and not wanting to invest any money in those assets. Lessons Learned The developers in today’s market have a more disciplined approach than many of their predecessors. There was a time when real …

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The conservative nature of the Des Moines marketplace has been tested in the past 24 months yet cautious optimism prevails. Historically the high concentration of financial service and insurance companies translated into quick absorption of large blocks of space. However, the downturn in the economy and the move of companies such as Allied-Nationwide, Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Aviva to new, owner-occupied buildings left behind significant blocks of space that have increased the office vacancy rate to almost 19 percent and will send it even higher. New construction and development has been divided between the central business district (CBD) and the west suburban markets. The 152,000-square-foot Davis-Brown Tower and the Wellmark’s 550,000-square-foot headquarters are significant additions to the CBD Gateway West corridor, while Aviva’s 360,000-square-foot, United States headquarters is situated in the ever-emerging Jordan Creek corridor. Although development of smaller office buildings has been slowed, there are some signs of positive growth. Delta Dental Iowa is nearing completion of its new 25,000-square-foot headquarters at Northpark Office Park in Urbandale. In addition, two significant lease transactions were signed in the west suburban market, including 25,000 square feet for Strategic America at 6600 Westown Parkway and 93,000 square feet for Sammons Financial …

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