Nearly $6.7 million in interior improvements have been made – or are being made – to downtown Des Moines’ tallest building, a review of commercial building permits issued in the first half of 2020 shows.
Most of the improvements made to the 630-foot tall high rise at 801 Grand Ave. have been on the 24th through 27th floors which Des Moines-based Fidelity & Guaranty Life Co. will move into later this year, a spokesperson for Principal Financial Group said.
Principal Financial Group is the owner of 801 Grand, valued at $78.8 million.
The improvements at 801 Grand this year are among the more than $119.89 million in building permits issued so far in 2020 by the city of Des Moines for new projects as well as remodels and renovations, the review of permits shows.
Fidelity & Guaranty, with about 200 employees, is currently located in Two Ruan Center. A planned expansion is expected to add at least 60 more workers.
When Fidelity & Guaranty moves into the space at 801 Grand, the building will be 86% leased, according to the Principal spokeswoman. Principal recently signed a lease for a tenant that in the fall is expected to move to the skywalk level of the building.
In 2019, more than $2.9 million in improvements were made to 801 Grand including removing elevators and replacing them with stairs.
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The Business Record last week launched an interactive map and database of commercial building permits issued by 13 Central Iowa communities in the first six months of 2020.
The interactive map includes information about the value of the permits issued, what type of work is being done and the date the permit was issued. Links are included to stories done by the Business Record on some of the projects.
The map and accompanying spreadsheet will be updated monthly.
