In addition, the city expects to begin razing the remainder of the buildings (shown at right in blue shaded areas of map) it owns in the area in 2023 and cleaning the sites, Ryan Moffatt, economic development coordinator for Des Moines, wrote in an email. The timing of the work is dependent on acceptance of bids by the City Council, he wrote.

“When all of those buildings are down it will really clean up the area quite a bit,” Hayes said.

It’s difficult to know when new buildings will start to be constructed in the area, he said. The timetable is dependent on the national economy.

“We’re going to have to wait and see what happens with interest rates,” he said. “That’s the biggest challenge developers are facing right now. They just don’t know where [interest rates] will be two years from now when they’ve got the project completed and financing locked in. It’s a challenge.”

Still, Hayes said there continues to be interest by developers in doing multifamily projects in the Market District. “It’s going to be a great location for [multifamily] with the park amenity along the river,” he said.

Hayes said there have been several out-of-town developers asking about multifamily projects, including housing for seniors. He said there’s also been some interest in hotel development and mixed-use office development.

“I think there’s some hesitancy about being the pioneer – the first one doing a project,” Hayes said. “I think some might want to wait until after that first project is started.”

Hayes said he expects that about 60% of new development in the Market District will be multifamily. The remainder will be commercial and office development, he said.