Local business and elected officials will not meet Friday with representatives of the U.S. General Services Administration to discuss plans for a new federal courthouse on prime downtown Des Moines development property.

The meeting, called by the Greater Des Moines Partnership, has been postponed at GSA’s request, apparently to give the agency time to sort out issues raised by the Des Moines City Council and others.

After meeting with GSA Commissioner Dan Mathews, who leads the agency’s public buildings service, the council approved a letter raising concerns about design of the $136 million structure and obstacles it presented to future development. The letter was sent to Mathews as well as Iowa congressional leaders. Read “Fed courthouse: ‘They came back and gave us a box’“ at BusinessRecord.com.

Polk County supervisors and business leaders, including Tom Harty and Steve Lacy of Meredith Corp. and businessman and philanthropist Nixon Lauridsen, also sent letters to Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst and Rep. Cindy Axne. Read “Business leaders, public officials unload on plans for federal courthouse” at BusinessRecord.com.

“Until such time that we can address the City Council’s concerns, it would not be productive to continue participating in dialogue with members of the wider Des Moines community,” the GSA said in a note to the Partnership.

Grassley and the GSA have not responded to Business Record requests to discuss the controversy.

Read the letter from Council here and the letters from four business leaders here.

Last year, GSA picked the site of the former Riverfront YMCA at 100 Locust St. as the site of the courthouse over protests from city and business leaders.