City to review plans for Court Avenue

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A cash-strapped city budget may be the driving force behind the likely phased-in redevelopment of the Court Avenue Historic District, downtown officials say.

On Monday, members of the Court Avenue District Housing Investment Fund LLC (CAH) will present their recommendations for a developer-initiated proposal for the redevelopment of the district to the Des Moines City Council. The CAH will also share with the council the original four proposals submitted to them months ago. The council will then accept or deny the recommendation before opening up the process to another round of competitive bidding.

Last week, a CAH committee composed of Roger Brooks, Linda Butler, Julia Lawler and Fred Weitz recommended joining the phases of separate proposals by two Twin-Cities developers, MetroPlains Development LLC and Lander-Sherman Urban Development Group over separate plans submitted by two Iowa developers: Court Avenue Partners, a joint venture owned by Harry Bookey and Jim Hubbell III, and Sioux City-based InVision Architecture.

The $60 million recommended plan focuses on 393 housing units at an average cost per unit of $22,000, as well as 30,000 square-feet of commercial space, while the Bookey-Hubbell plan included a mix of both residential and commercial at once.

The evaluation criteria for the recommendation included financial capacity, specific ideas for the site, experience and quality of prior projects, references, proposed financial structure, implementation of a parking plan and development timeline.

Chris Greenfield, president of the Downtown Community Alliance, one of several participating entities participating in the process, said he thought the amount of additional public and private funding needed to complete each project was the key factor in the committee’s decision. He referred to the $5 million gap between competing plans from MetroPlains and Lander-Sherman ($8.6 million) and Court Avenue Partners ($13.8 million) for additional public and private funding.

“We were pretty sensitive on what we perceived to be the city’s resources,” he said. “That’s important and that weighed on the decision-makers’ minds.”

Des Moines Mayor Preston Daniels agreed, adding that the timing of the project is challenging considering budget shortfalls.

“The consideration regarding the dollars is a consideration that has to be made,” he said. “We’d love to everything at once, but we don’t have the money to do it. Housing is the main goal, but we also realize commercial development helps provide the city with a strong tax base. I believe the recommendation will give us a breakdown on how we will be able to work both and how to be cost-effective.”

Greenfield said each of the four proposals would benefit Court Avenue in some way, but it is the city’s decision to determine the amount of money they can spend on the project.

“It’s the council’s call,” Greenfield said. “They need to evaluate the proposals on their own. Ultimately we can’t decide what they do with their properties and their money. Whatever happens, we want the city to be successful. We want this to be energizing and exciting for Des Moines.”

Though Greenfield is supportive of the housing initiative, he is concerned about the plans for commercial development on Court Avenue. “I think it will take a concerted effort by the city to spur commercial development there,” he said.

Daniels said the future of commercial development on Court Avenue remains uncertain, though he understands its importance and would not rule out the possibility that more of it could be included in the early phases of an approved plan.

“We can’t buy the chicken and the egg together, but maybe we can do both if the money is there,” Daniels said. “We’ll have to see if developers are willing to phase-in their projects.”

Councilwoman Christine Hensley said the recommendation is reasonable, but it doesn’t preclude the city from seeking competing bids from additional developers. Still, she is confident the city will be able to reach an agreement with developers to revitalize Court Avenue.

“I want a project we can get done,” she said. “This is the first step.”

Hensley said she expects the review process to take up to 60 days. Though she expects the council to be thorough, she said it is important to be cognizant of the timelines during which developers can apply for tax credits.

“We need to know the deadlines and then we need to give developers a decision one way or the other,” she said.

Should the city accept the CAH’s recommendation, it will mark the first time the competing Twin Cities developers MetroPlains and Lander-Sherman will work together on a project, said Jean Eide, vice-president for MetroPlains.

“We’re thrilled to have been selected for the first phase and to have the opportunity to make that a well-designed block of housing,” she said. “We’ve never worked with Lander-Sherman, but we know they have a solid reputation.”

Eide said the committee recommended accepting the first phase of MetroPlains’ plan, which includes the renovation of the top three floors of the Spaghetti Works building, where loft-style apartments would be constructed. Though the company’s second phase was not included in the recommendation, the plan does include commercial development and she is confident that her company’s plan to create a green space and public gathering place will be included.  

“We felt the phasing of the project was important,” Eide said. “The first phase is significant to us because it is paramount to the overall development. Whoever develops the second phase will have to see how the first phase is received so they can adjust to the demand. Sherman-Lander will have that benefit. But it is important that the project go forward to the third and fourth phases, but not to bite off too much and take it step-by-step. We’ll roll with the process.”

Joe Coppola, owner of Java Joes Coffeehouse, questioned the committee’s recommendation, though he admitted each plan had its merits.

“I’m greatly disappointed where we’ve gone,” he said. “We went from an exciting entertainment complex and housing to fulfill what we thought was the city’s vision for years, to peeling away the pieces that have to do with making Court Avenue a destination place. I think we’re missing the mark on what we should be building down here.”

Coppola said the public response on the issue has favored developing nightlife, restaurants and shops in the district. “We’ve got a lot of vacancies up and down the street,” he said. “Our reputation is one of being fairly dead. So why not attempt to fix that? We would be smart to have a two-prong approach.”

A proposal for a mixed-use neighborhood by Court Avenue Partners included 244 mixed-income apartment units, as well as the development of an entertainment complex that would house restaurants, nightclubs, a public market, commercial shopping and other amenities, but it was not selected. Bookey said he, too, disagreed with the committee’s recommendation.

“We feel it’s the wrong vision for Court Avenue,” he said, noting that his plan includes the essential urban fabric he deemed necessary for the area’s success. “We feel in order for Court Avenue to be successful, it needs a unique and quality urban living environment, and the uniqueness is answered to a great degree in the redevelopment of the Nacho Mammas and Judge Roy Bean buildings and the outdoor area between them. We need a unique project to compete with other Midwest cities.”

Bookey admitted that renovating the Nacho Mammas and Judge Roy Bean buildings would be expensive, but the financial risks would be offset by the profits obtained by housing.

Should the City Council ask to use a portion of his plan in the future, Bookey said, “we have an integrated proposal and any changes to it would have to be severely evaluated in all respects.”