An architectural rendering of what the proposed Quarter entertainment district in Waukee could look like. Rendering provided by Confluence

Details of an ambitious undertaking to transform 40 acres of Waukee farmland into an entertainment destination were revealed during Monday’s city council meeting.

Developer Daniel Pettit has been planning an entertainment district for more than a year. He’s refined the plan to include an indoor concert venue surrounded by entertainment areas for golf, pickleball and bowling. The venue would host up to 75 events a year including concerts, sporting events, car shows and farmers’ markets, he said.

Originally, Pettit had planned an outdoor venue but determined the plan was not economically feasible.

“When you look at these types of things in the Midwest, they struggle because they are only getting traffic to them for about four months out of the year,” Pettit told the Business Record. 

The project, valued at $80 million, will include a four-story hotel with spaces for retail and restaurants. Also planned in the district is a nationally-known country bar, a British pub and a sports bar, he said.

On Monday, the Waukee City Council approved a development agreement with Pettit that provides the developer $19 million in economic development grants from the city over a 12-year period.  

The project, called the Quarter, includes six buildings, ranging in value from $3.5 million to $22 million, city documents show. An architect’s conceptual drawing shows five multi-story buildings surrounding a covered mall. A hotel is adjacent to the Quarter.

Pettit said he is hopeful construction can begin in 2020 with completion of the hotel and much of the event venue completed by the end of 2021.

“I think this is a remarkable project,” Waukee City Councilwoman Shelly Hughes said. “We talk about creating gathering spaces. This is making Waukee more and more a destination.”

The Quarter will be located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Ashworth Road and Grand Prairie Parkway.  Pettit is currently developing about 12.4 acres to the north of the site. Completed are a dental office and office building. Construction is expected to begin this fall on another office building and small event center with attached restaurant. At least one hotel is planned as well. 

To the west of the development will likely be a large apartment complex, Pettit said.  

When Pettit began planning the entertainment district, he contemplated building a hotel convention center or sport complex, he said.

“What we really found is that we’re creating a neighborhood that’s designed for all ages,” he said. “People just don’t want bars anymore. They don’t want the same old stuff. They want activity-based things.”

The large event venue will hold 4,000 to 6,000 people, Pettit said. The venue will host local arts as well as attract nationally-known artists, he said. 

“This will provide a unique entertainment venue that will attract users not currently in the city or the metro Des Moines area,” Waukee’s economic development director Dan Dutcher told council members.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correctly credit the architecture firm for the provided rendering.