4,600 new apartment units planned in Des Moines area in next two years; area’s vacancy rate at 6%

Kathy A. Bolten Feb 5, 2025 | 6:00 am
2 min read time
380 wordsAll Latest News, Real Estate and DevelopmentConstruction is expected to begin in the next two years on multifamily projects that would add over 4,600 apartment units to the Des Moines area, according to CBRE Inc.’s recent market report.
Twenty-five percent, or 1,146, of the new units are planned in Des Moines’ central business district.
In the past three years, just 314 new units have been added to the downtown area, Cy Fox, a CBRE executive vice president, wrote in an email. Consequently, rent growth in the downtown area has averaged 7%, he wrote.
“We expect rent growth to decelerate and vacancy to increase slightly in the short term as new supply comes online,” Fox wrote.

New projects in the central business district include:
- The Falcon, a seven-story project at 1435 Mulberry St. The $62 million project is expected to include 202 units. The project’s developer is Double Eagle Development in Chicago.
- Two Ruan Center, a 14-story office building at 601 Locust St. that is proposed to be converted to 221 units of multifamily. Developers of the $81.2 million project include Block Real Estate Services, Kansas City, Mo., and Ruan Center Corp.
- 515 Walnut Tower, a 33-story building at 515 Walnut St. that will include 390 apartment units. Construction is underway on the nearly $70 million project that is expected to be completed in 2027. The project’s developer is St. Joseph Group.
- Financial Center, a 25-story building at 606 Walnut St. (pictured) owned by Lawmark Capital. Over half of the building will be converted to nearly 200 apartment units. The readaptation is estimated to cost $70 million.
- The fourth phase of LINC, Hubbell Realty Co.’s apartment rental project at Southwest 11th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The project is expected to include 137 units.
“Several of the planned projects, if they come to fruition, are late 2025/early 2026 starts, which should space out the deliveries to handle absorption at a relatively normal rate.” Fox wrote.
Currently, 3,252 apartment units are under construction in the Greater Des Moines area, one-third of which, or 1,113, are in Waukee, according to the report.
Also, according to the market report, the apartment vacancy rate for the metro area is 6%, the first time in three years the rate has exceeded 5%. The average market rent is $1,122 a month.
To read the report, click here.

Kathy A. Bolten
Kathy A. Bolten is a senior staff writer at Business Record. She covers real estate and development, workforce development, education, banking and finance, and housing.