Hidden architectural gem to get $10 million makeover
'This is a building that scholars study and to have that kind of architecture downtown is really fabulous. We’re lucky for that.'
There’s a good chance you’ve walked past it without giving a second look.
A boxy steel and glass building standing just three stories tall, the Catholic Pastoral Center at 601 Grand Ave. doesn’t command a lot of attention. But among local architects and history buffs, it has a cult following.
“This is a building that appears in architecture textbooks,” said Jennifer James, an architectural historian. “This is a building that scholars study and to have that kind of architecture downtown is really fabulous. We’re lucky.”
Now, the building is poised for a $10 million renovation that Catholic Diocese of Des Moines officials say will extend its life another 50 years.
The renovation is scheduled to begin in the fall and take about a year. It will replace or repair lighting, heating, plumbing and other mechanical systems. The rusting exterior will be restored. The windows, a type of glass now outlawed because of the dangerous way it shatters, will be replaced. A hole in the side of the building where a skywalk entrance was recently removed will be patched.
“It needs a significant update in terms of the internal operations of the building,” said Bishop Richard Pates.
First major modernist building downtown
The building’s fanfare goes back five decades. Designed by well-known architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, it opened in 1962 as the Home Federal Savings and Loan building.
The Savings and Loan Building was one of the first — if not the first — steel and glass modernist building in downtown Des Moines, James said. It features a black steal exterior with floor-to-ceiling windows. Vertical steel beams line the outer walls. A covered plaza surrounds a glass first floor atrium.
The building showcases Mies’ rational, systematic style, James said. Squares are repeated throughout the property. The building itself is a square, as are the marble tiles in the plaza and the light fixtures on the ceiling. Even the iron rods of the stair railings are square.
The building was hailed in the press. A 1962 article in The Des Moines Register called it a “functional, almost futuristic structure.”
“Sometimes those things can get lost over time, so this is great time to revisit that rich legacy and maybe help foster that kind of appreciation again,” James said.
Axis of beauty
In 1965, downtown Des Moines got its second large modernist building with the opening of the American Republic building at 601 Sixth Ave.
A Register story said the buildings created an “Axis of Beauty," showcasing the best of the modern architecture movement.
The American Republic building underwent its own $30 million renovation last year.
“We both grew old at the same time,” Pates said. “And both were in need of a little dressing up 50 years later.”
The Pastoral Center building still piques the interest of architecture-lovers. When the Iowa Architecture Foundation hosted a tour of the building earlier this month, more than 50 architects and admirers showed up.
In the 1990s the building faced an uncertain future. Home Federal folded in 1990 amid the nationwide savings and loan crisis.
Worried it would be demolished, architecture buffs from around the world mounted a letter-writing campaign. Lord Peter Palumbo, chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain, wrote to say demolishing the building would be "nothing short of a tragedy."
Ultimately, the City Council to designated the building as a local landmark, shielding it from the wrecking ball.
Local philanthropist Ed Ochylski bought the building and donated it to the Diocese of Des Moines in 1992. The location was an ideal fit. The building is next door to the diocese’s St. Ambrose Cathedral.
Today, the building houses 71 employees and provides offices for Catholic Charities, Iowa Catholic Radio, the Catholic Foundation of Southwest Iowa, the Catholic Tuition Organization and Catholic Senior Housing.
The diocese, which represents about 110,000 Catholics in the region, raised $5 million for the project through a capital campaign. Another fundraising campaign aims to raise $3 million more and the organization is applying for historic tax credits worth $2 million.
Architect's grandson hired for adjacent project
An apartment complex planned next door to the Catholic Pastoral Center will pay respect to the center’s mid-century modern architecture, the apartment developer says.
Nelson Construction and Development plans to build an eight-story-or-taller apartment tower on the same block as the Catholic Center at 601 Grand Ave. Designed by well-known modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the Catholic Center is scheduled to be renovated starting this fall.
Nelson hired Mies’ grandson, Dirk Lohan, as a consulting architect for the apartment tower. Lohan is collaborating with local architecture firm BNIM, said Alexander Grgurich, development analyst for Nelson.
Nelson hasn’t yet released images or details about the design of its tower, but Grgurich said it will honor Mies' design while looking to the future.
“To share a block with one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the whole state, we, as responsible developers, take it as an obligation to pay respect to that architecture,” he said.
Lohan, who worked for his grandfather before starting his own firm, has designed multiple skyscrapers, corporate campuses and museums.
About the renovation
Building: Catholic Pastoral Center at 601 Grand Ave.
Cost: $10 million
Construction schedule: Fall 2016 to fall 2017
History: Opened in 1962, the building was designed by celebrated modernist Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and is one of the most well-known examples of mid-century modern architecture in Des Moines.
Renovation: The project will replace mechanical systems and windows, repair the exterior steel and patch a hole where a skywalk entrance was recently removed.