The Des Moines City Council voted Monday to move forward with a proposal from Omaha-based White Lotus Group for redevelopment of the city’s Argonne Armory on Robert D. Ray Drive.

But the unanimous approval did not come without hesitation, which was expressed by Councilman Josh Mandelbaum after hearing about problems the company has had on other projects.

City Manager Scott Sanders addressed Mandelbaum’s concerns, saying Monday’s action was only the first step in a process that could take several months as staff continues to work with the White Lotus Group and conduct due diligence before bringing a development agreement before council for consideration.

The city issued a request for proposals for the building in July after Des Moines Performing Arts withdrew from talks with the city for redevelopment of the building. 

Two proposals were submitted: one from the White Lotus Group of Omaha and the other from Des Moines-based Ntontan Real Estate in partnership with Hubbell Realty Co.

After reviewing both proposals, city staff recommended the council accept the proposal from the White Lotus Group.

The firm’s proposal calls for redevelopment of the armory, which was built in 1934, into a mixed-use building that includes 43 residential units, a first-floor cafe and retail space, and a lower-level, upscale bar.

Ntontan Real Estate proposed a mixed-use development with a food hall, year-round public market, office space for cultural nonprofits and 40 mixed-income residential units.

The decision is contingent on several conditions, including that all design and construction comply with federal and city historic preservation guidelines, confirmation of a commitment from a quality architect and historic preservation consultant, and confirmation of the firm’s financial capacity to complete the project.

Mandelbaum said the problems he had read about included that the White Lotus Group was in default on a much larger and more difficult project, and he acknowledged that “it’s very much a different set of circumstances.”

“But I want to make sure that we are appropriately evaluating that, and then if we move forward with them that we are protecting ourselves,” he said.

Mandelbaum said he wanted to make sure staff does its due diligence and “a little checking” before moving forward.

“Quite honestly, I would prefer to wait until we heard back from staff,” he said.

Sanders said that due diligence will occur as the process moves forward.

“It’s important to recognize this as a first step of simply identifying which developer you want to get going down the path to see if we can come back with preliminary terms of a development agreement,” he said.

Sanders said it would likely take several months, and that during that process city staff will get the history of the company in other communities where it has worked.

Mayor Connie Boesen said it’s at the beginning of the process.

“There’s going to be a lot of cross checks before anything goes forward, but their proposal for what they had committed to in the work they had done was the best, so that’s why [staff] is recommending this group,” she said.

Mandelbaum also raised concern with White Lotus Group’s proposal that the city give them the armory for free, and that they had equity to invest in the building. The proposal by Ntontan Real Estate had them buying the building but they didn’t have equity.

“So the two proposals were not apples to apples,” he said. “I just wanted to be careful and set the expectation, because I don’t think we should be giving the building away. So, we have some real issues to work through as we work towards terms, especially if we’re giving the building away.”

If an agreement cannot be reached with White Lotus Group, the city would resend the request for RFPs for the building, Sanders said.

The armory 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 departments will move to the Nationwide Building on Locust Street in the first quarter of 2026.