Biz Buzz: Former YMCA site searching for signature project
It’s been two months since an implosion turned the Riverfront YMCA into a pile of rubble.
The 1.86-acre parcel was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime piece of real estate in the city — a large, centrally located site with access to the riverwalk and views of the downtown skyline and Capitol dome. It was a site to make real estate developers drool.
So far, no one has pulled the trigger and bought the site. But one developer is getting closer. And others are sniffing around.
The latest:
Hubbell Realty Co. still has a contract to purchase the YMCA property. The West Des Moines-based developer recently extended that contract to Jan. 29, 2016, giving the company more time to create and vet a plan to build on the site.
Hubbell is now considering a “taller element” as part of the project, CEO Rick Tollakson told Buzz.
That should pique the interest of those closely following the saga of the YMCA site.
Hubbell’s preliminary plan for the site leaked last spring. It called for a five-story apartment complex with some street-level retail space and a possible parking garage hidden by a row of townhouses. The plan received a tepid response from city officials and downtown aficionados who wanted to see a high-rise development or at least a landmark project to capitalize on the rare opportunity to build along the river.
Now, Hubbell is working on something that would rise above the five-story apartment building, Tollakson said.
He wasn’t ready to share much more detail than that.
A hotel might be a good guess.
Quad Cities-based hotel developer Mike Whalen said he was approached by Hubbell about building a hotel on the site. Whalen's company Heart of America Group is building an outlet mall in Altoona and upscale hotel in the East Village. He said the talks with Hubbell haven’t gone very far.
“They’re exploring the highest and best use of the site,” he said. “I think they’re doing it right.”
Linda Gibbs, a listing agent for the site and a broker with CBRE/Hubbell Commercial, said four developers have shown interest in buying the site.
Buzz was able to confirm only one of those developers: Roers Investments. The Minneapolis-based company got its start building apartments in the North Dakota oil field boomtowns and gained a foothold in the Des Moines market this year, breaking ground on a $40 million apartment complex near Court Avenue.
Owner Kent Roers said the company has drawn up plans for the YMCA site that include a U-shaped apartment building opening up to the river, standing five- to six-stories tall. But Roers — and the other developers eyeing the site — will only get a crack at it if Hubbell backs out.
Tollakson said Hubbell is getting closer to finalizing the deal, but the company will likely need another extension beyond January.
It’s a tricky site for economic and architectural reasons, he said. The asking price started at $5.5 million. And because it is such a visible property, there are plenty of vocal opinions about what should be built. The challenge is building something that fulfills the city’s desire for a landmark project.
“Realistically, it’s not going to be the Sydney Opera House,” Tollakson said. “But I think everyone is getting closer. If we weren’t getting closer, I wouldn’t have extended the contract.”
Hotel planned near Waukee exit
Speaking of Mike Whalen, the real estate developer is looking to break more ground in the Des Moines metro. Whalen told Buzz he is working on a hotel project near the recently completed Grand Prairie Parkway interchange in Waukee.
Whalen said he wants to build a high-end, full-service hotel in the parcel just north of Interstate 80. That would be a major step forward for Kettlestone, the 1,500-acre planned development Waukee envisions around the Grand Prairie Parkway.
Whalen hasn’t been able to land a hotel franchise for the project yet, but he hopes the opening of the new corridor will jumpstart interest in the project.
“It’ hard to get people interested in the site when you can’t drive by it,” he said. “The opening of Grand Prairie Parkway, that’s a game-changer.”
Broadcasters head Ames event
Sportscasters Brent Musburger and Fran Fraschilla are speaking in central Iowa next month. Musburger and Fraschilla, who broadcast ESPN’s Big Monday college basketball coverage, are the headliners for the Ames Chamber of Commerce annual event Jan. 26 in the Sukup South End Zone at Jack Trice Stadium.
Main Street dark this year
Ames' Main Street is a little darker this holiday season. For 25 years, downtown Ames has lit both sides of Main Street with Christmas lights, but the lights are in such disrepair that they couldn’t be turned on this year, according to Cindy Hicks, executive director of the Ames Main Street Cultural District.
Now, the district is trying to raise money replace the lights with new, energy efficient LED bulbs, she said. The lights would be used during the holidays and could be lit red for game days and March Madness, or red white and blue for the Fourth of July, Hicks said.
The main street district needs $80,000 for the project.
Birthdays
On Dec. 6, U.S. Attorney for the north district of Iowa Kevin Techau turns 57 and Register political columnist Kathie Obradovich turns 51.
David Fisher, former CEO of home furnishings distributor Onthank Co. and former adviser to Gov. Terry Branstad, turns 79 on Dec. 7. Other Monday birthdays include Brian Grefe, of Grefe Capital Management, who is turning 35, and Brad Argo, vice president of sales and marketing with Blur Media Works, who is turning 38.
There are several birthdays on Dec. 8. Teresa Van Vleet-Danos, owner of Rowat Cut Stone and Marble Co., turns 63. Rob Hentzen, CEO of Millennium Therapy, turns 55. Mashal Husain, vice president of World Food Prize Foundation, turns 44. Chaden Halfhill, owner of Silent Rivers Design + Build, will be 48.
Neurosurgeon Tom Carlstrom turns 67 on Dec. 9. His son Jason Carlstrom, former chairman of the Iowa Parole Board, will be 42 the following day.
Also celebrating a birthday Dec. 10 is Larry Eisenhauer, former chief judge of the Iowa Court of Appeals. He will be 69.
Des Moines real estate developer Frank Levy turns 48 on Dec. 11.