Sam Clay Sr. used to cut people’s hair in his basement. But when a commercial space became available in the Wherry Block Building at Sixth and College avenues, he jumped at the opportunity to expand his business.

Since he opened Imperial Kuttz in March, the business has taken off. “They say the first few years are going to be your slow years,” Clay said, “and it’s been kind of prosperous to us.”

Millie Carr also plans to open a business, Something Good Catering Restaurant, in the Wherry Block Building this month. Just by having a sign with her phone number in the store window, she already has received an “overwhelming response” from people looking for a job or catering service. “It’s something I guess they wanted for a long time,” she said. “There was just no one to develop it.”

Like Clay and Carr, several business owners are helping jump-start the Sixth Avenue corridor between University Avenue and Hickman Road as Neighborhood Development Corp. has completed several revitalization projects along that route.

So far, NDC has provided space for about 15 new businesses and at least 50 residential units and will increase those numbers as it completes more projects over the next couple of years. Shelley Watkins, associate director for NDC, said there are long waiting lists for space.

“I think that we are showing the efforts on our part of revitalizing the neighborhood,” she said.

Matthew Anderson, economic development administrator for the city of Des Moines, believes this kind of economic development is important. “We see the Sixth Avenue corridor as a gateway into downtown,” he said. “It’s a heavily traveled route from Ankeny and northern parts of Des Moines.”

He said commercial development will attract more people to the area and keep housing values up, in addition to providing needed services to area residents. Watkins pointed out that the area is one of the most diverse areas in Des Moines, with almost an even mix of Asians, African-Americans, Latinos and whites.

Although NDC was formed in 1999, Watkins believes the organization is just taking off after purchasing properties in a few areas it wants to focus on redeveloping and completing initial projects. “Now it seems like we’ve gone through that first phase and we’re into the second and third phases,” she said. “So we’re able to generate a little more funding and build our reputation as well.”

The organization primarily is funded through the city of Des Moines under a 28E agreement, which gives NDC $1 million a year for five years. This is the last year it will receive funding under the agreement, and it is in the process of trying to renew its contract. Polk County and the Neighborhood Finance Corp. also have funded some of its projects.

Though many for-profit developers are looking to develop Des Moines’ western suburbs or work on large projects, NDC prides itself on revitalizing distressed neighborhoods to the point that for-profit developers get interested. Sixth Avenue was one of its first locations, because the city was doing an urban renewal plan for the area around the time NDC formed, Watkins said.

The projects NDC has worked on, or is working on, along Sixth Avenue are:

University and Sixth avenues. One of NDC’s first goals was to find an anchor for this corner. McDonald’s Corp. signed a 20-year lease and that restaurant currently has the highest volume of traffic of any McDonald’s in the city, Watkins said.

1230 Sixth Ave. NDC owns the former Sandler Medical Supplies building and will likely sell it to Urban Legacy Partners LLC, a for-profit developer, in the next year. A planned two-story building will offer four commercial bays on the first floor and four office suites on the second level. Steve Johnson, co-owner of Urban Legacy Partners, said the city has approved its plan and now he is working on funding options for the project. Several businesses have been interested in renting spaces once the project is completed including Subway, a Latino restaurant and an accountant’s office.

Sixth and Indiana avenues. NDC worked with its partner organization, Community Housing Development Corp., to transform three abandoned houses into two new homes, which it sold to Anawim Housing as part of a low-income tax credit project.

Sixth and Forest avenues. NDC has completed a renovation of the 1895 Temple Block building. The building was scheduled for demolition when NDC bought it. On the first floor are five commercial bays, which house a boxing club, the Neighborhood Health Initiative and the offices of NDC and CHDC. On the second level, it turned a 30-room boarding house with one central bath into seven residential apartments. The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Sixth and College avenues. The 1887 Wherry Block Building also was scheduled for demolition when NDC bought it and renovated it into four commercial bays on the first floor and four apartments on the second level. The commercial bays are leased to a clothing store, a barber shop, an African clothing and food store, and a restaurant and catering company, all of which should be open by next month. The building also is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Second and third phases of construction this year will turn the block into The Shoppes of River Bend and will include three buildings with 12 commercial bays and a 95-space parking lot.

Beyond these projects, NDC owns several parcels of land it would like to sell to for-profit developers. “If we have created one area and have the opportunity to sell it, that gives us the funding to be able to move on to another area that needs redevelopment,” Watkins said.

Urban Legacy Partners is interested in purchasing the parcel across from the Temple Block building as well as other properties along that corridor. Johnson also plans to develop three buildings for commercial use, including the former Sandler Medical building at Sixth and Indiana avenues.

“I think CHDC and NDC have done a great job of developing [that corridor],” Johnson said, “but it’s time for a private developer to come in as well. We’re trying to be that catalyst and create that opportunity to be a very diverse cultural hot spot.”

But Urban Legacy Partners will be limited by the funding it can receive. Johnson originally formed a company with Jack Taylor, owner of Taylor Construction Group, to focus on revitalizing some of Des Moines’ downtrodden areas, one of which was Sixth Avenue. After Taylor passed away last year, Johnson formed a new company dedicated to keeping these efforts going, but he does not have as much funding as the former company had.

In addition to Urban Legacy Properties, Watkins said there is someone interested in buying the Wherry Block Building when that project is completed. She also said NDC might give some of its business tenants the opportunity to jointly purchase their buildings in the future.

Though momentum is strong in the area, Watkins would still like to see a major retail outlet nearby, such as a Target store. Top Value, a grocery store that opened west of McDonald’s, closed after operating for only a short time, and that building remains vacant.

Johnson also would like to see some public properties, such as the Bethel Mission, a homeless shelter near the former Sandler Medical building, moved back from the main corridor to encourage commercial activity.

“I think the mission does great things, but it’s not necessarily the best neighbor to have in terms of commercial development,” he said. “A lot of stores and companies are scared of that population.”

But overall, many of the pioneer organizations and businesses on Sixth Avenue believe the area is headed in the right direction.

“I think it’s going to flourish and people will see there’s a lot to be had by coming over there to shop, get their hair done and have a variety of things to do,” business owner Carr said. “We’re trying to bring that part of Des Moines back to life again.”