Catching up on the Riverfront Y property
KENT DARR Jun 23, 2016 | 3:29 pm
<1 min read time
0 wordsAll Latest News, Business Record Insider, Real Estate and DevelopmentHere’s an interesting thought to consider while the city of Des Moines and Hubbell Realty Co. hash out the details of what might rise from the rubble of the old Riverfront YMCA.
Those discussions could be nearing a conclusion, some folks say, while others point out that Hubbell’s option on the Riverfront Y property doesn’t expire until September. The city has had a look at five or six options presented by Hubbell. The tinkering is completed.
Either the rush is on or it isn’t.
One option left to consider is that the city of Des Moines could acquire the property, which has a $4.5 million backup offer from Des Moines Redevelopment Co.
However, the nonprofit group of local business leaders does not want to hold the deed to the property. City ownership is one possibility that was considered years ago when discussions were underway for what became the great land swap that led to the YMCA of Greater Des Moines acquiring the former Polk County Convention Center — the Plex, as it was known — at Fifth and Grand avenues.
Today that site is known as the Wellmark YMCA. We’ll skip the details, but selling and developing the Riverfront Y property will fix in place all the moving pieces of the land swap. Matt Anderson, the assistant city manager who is in charge of economic development efforts for the city, said it is possible the city could acquire the Riverfront Y property if a suitable development deal isn’t worked out.
The purchase could be completed via issuing bonds or getting West Bank to agree to allow the city to pay the carrying costs for the property that are currently being paid by Hubbell under its option to buy the property.
Those options haven’t moved off the table. The city has not talked to West Bank, and issuing bonds would further delay acquisition of the site. Some people believe that if Hubbell cannot complete a deal with the city, the property will lose some of its value.
They also believe that the city is playing a needless game of hardball with a developer that has left its mark across downtown and Greater Des Moines, often without the benefit of extraordinary incentives from taxpayers.
The city wants an iconic structure, one that would defy current zoning for the property. City leaders and plenty of development officials believe such a structure is befitting what they consider the last piece of prime real estate property in the city.
Now that two high-rise structures have been proposed for downtown, you can’t help but wonder whether the city might back off of its wishes for something in the 12-story range — still a high-rise under city zoning — on the Riverfront Y property.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Anderson said. He also points out that the city has plenty of time this summer to work out an agreement with Hubbell.
As one developer said, “If Hubbell can’t do it, who can?”
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