The city of Des Moines will seek proposals for the redevelopment of the Argonne Armory building after Des Moines Performing Arts recently notified the city they are no longer interested in the building.

Des Moines Performing Arts announced in May 2024 that they would present a concept to the city to purchase the building to meet the increasing demand for its educational programming. It was decided at the organization’s board meeting about two weeks ago that they would not pursue the purchase and redevelopment of the property, said Carrie Kruse, economic development administrator for the city.

Kruse said the city council will consider issuing a request for proposals during its meeting scheduled for Monday, June 30.

According to city staff reports, Des Moines Performing Arts worked with Christensen Development to submit a proposal but during the due diligence process it was determined the 67,000-square-foot building at 602 Robert D. Ray Drive was too large for the organization’s needs and would be too expensive to renovate and maintain.

“After completing a detailed feasibility study, DMPA has determined that the armory is not a viable option due to the significant construction needs and long-term operating costs required to meet our programming goals,” the organization said in an emailed statement.

The city’s staff report indicates an appraisal underway to determine the fair market value of the building.

The Argonne Armory was built in 1934 to house 10 Iowa National Guard units and the Argonne post of the American Legion. Currently, it houses the city’s community development and neighborhood services offices. That includes planning and development, urban development, economic development, building inspector and permitting, legal/litigation and information technology.

Those operations will move when the city relocates to the Nationwide building at 1200 Locust St. early next year.

Kruse said the goal is to issue an RFP in early July with proposals due by the end of October.

“Then we would target November to get back to council with recommendations and then proceed through the preliminary terms of a development agreement, and hopefully have something in place by spring 2026 when we’re ready to transition out of the building,” she said.

Kruse said the city’s goal for redeveloping the building is to complement other activity downtown and the East Village.

The city won’t limit potential uses of the building, she said.

“We’re leaving the door open,” Kruse said. “Our top priorities are really going to be proposals that preserve the historic character of the building and that it will best serve the public interest.”

The city understands the challenges a developer will face in redeveloping the building, she said.

“Renovating this building is going to be a pretty substantial investment, especially [because] we have it pretty well chopped up for our purposes,” Kruse said. “We have multiple departments operating out of the building and there’s going to be a pretty substantial cost to open the building back up for redevelopment.”

And then there are the challenges in redeveloping a historic building, she said.

“There’s often unique things that come with those buildings and sometimes costly renovations, which is why we have tax credits and other incentives that we can work with to make sure those renovations are happening in a way that respects the historic character of the building,” Kruse said.

Although Des Moines Performing Arts will not pursue the armory building, they are still committed to finding space to expand its programming, Kruse said.

“They are still evaluating a couple of other sites to make that happen, which we’re very excited about and support,” she said.

In its emailed statement, Des Moines Performing Arts confirmed it is exploring other development opportunities downtown.

“DMPA remains committed to expanding access to the arts for individuals of all ages and backgrounds and continues to actively pursue other opportunities in downtown Des Moines that can support a vibrant, sustainable space for arts education and engagement,” the statement read.

For those interested in submitting a proposal on the armory building, Kruse said Des Moines Performing Arts has shared its architectural drawings they had developed for the building to help save prospective developers time and money.

“Those will be made available, so for those interested in working on a proposal hopefully that gets groups a couple steps ahead of where they would be otherwise, which we really appreciate,” she said.