When Dan Stanbrough and his business partners began assembling parcels of land on Iowa Highway 163, east of the Iowa Highway 5 bypass in Pleasant Hill, rows of small acreages dotted the landscape.

That was 1999, “really before the bypass was open,” he said, adding that the group ultimately purchased about 145 acres east of the interchange, on the north and south sides of Highway 163, and began improving a section of Northeast 60th Street in anticipation of the city’s growth.

A development agreement between Stanbrough and the city created a tax increment financing district in 2003, which helped fund other improvements.

Now that the infrastructure of the Pleasant Hill Center I and Pleasant Hill Center II developments has been completed and extended east to the new Southeast Polk High School slated to open next fall, Stanbrough is anticipating more growth in Pleasant Hill and Eastern Polk County.

“I know that these schools create the housing demand, and the housing demand drives the retail demand,” he said. “We were putting ourselves in place to be a part of this growth.”

“Businesses that are already committed are doing well, which is a good indicator for future businesses,” Stanbrough said, commenting on the success of a Kum & Go LC convenience store on the site and a Sleep Inn hotel that he owns with eight other partners.

A Mercy Medical Clinic, owned by Stanbrough and partners John Gillotti and Mark Bockenstedt, stands across from the Kum & Go on the north side of Highway 163 and also has been performing well, Stanbrough said. A 24,000-square-foot expansion of the building is slated to be finished in mid-2009. The occupant recently signed a 12-year lease on he property.

“Based on (the clinic’s) growth, we certainly would anticipate more expansion down the road,” he said.

Triton Homes purchased 10.5 acres in 2005 and Deery Brothers Chevrolet Inc. bought 22 acres last year, leaving Stanbrough and partners Gillotti and Doug Wagner with nearly 90 acres of undeveloped land in Pleasant Hill Center.

The most recent sale, a one-acre parcel at 5940 Morning Star Court, was to El Mezquite LLC, owned by Rosa and Agustin Arceo, on Sept. 29. The Arceos, who own and operate Plaza Mexico restaurant on East 14th Street in Des Moines, purchased the land as an investment property, Rosa said, adding that long-term plans may include building a restaurant there.

A couple of large retailers have looked at a 30-acre parcel southeast of the Kum & Go, Stanbrough said, but interest has waned in recent months.

“The two national developers that were very interested in our property have both just taken a step back through this period of the economy,” he said. “With the economy doing what it’s doing right now, I think the jury is still out as to how development on the large retail centers will be done. … I think that people are sitting back and waiting for consumer confidence” to return.

Don Coates, executive director of Eastern Polk Regional Development Inc., said his organization has been receiving a lot of inquiries about leasing property rather than building during the last month.

“I’d say the commercial stuff has probably slowed a little bit,” he said.

“The last 18 months have been as conservative as I have seen in my career,” as far as commercial development is concerned, Stanbrough said. But despite challenging economic conditions right now, he is optimistic about future prospects.

In the meantime, the partners have no plans to delay developing the property.

“Activity breeds activity,” Stanbrough said. “We have a great property here in a great community. We don’t want to wait for 10 years for more new businesses. We want to keep the ball rolling.”

The three partners have also considered subdividing a 26-acre parcel directly north of the Kum & Go and taking advantage of smaller retail users – such as banks, restaurants and other businesses – that have interest in the interchange.

They have also talked about constructing a second hotel.

Mixed-use and office development, such as a call center or the expansion of another business, is also an option for Pleasant Hill Center, Stanbrough said, adding that one of his goals is to “create some office jobs where people aren’t commuting from Pleasant Hill.”

“Recreation is a huge real estate magnet,” for the area as well, he said, and is confident that places like Sleepy Hollow Sports Park, Adventureland Park and the Iowa State Fairgrounds will draw people to eastern Polk County.

Though the challenges some retailers are currently facing “will undoubtedly change the thinking of how some of these developments are done,” Stanbrough said, he believes it will turn around in the next 24 months.

“2009 will probably shed some light on the future and how the retail will sort itself out.”