The Denny Elwell Company has purchased the former Zora Bar & Rooftop building at 2120 Ingersoll Ave., Chris Murray, president and CEO, told the Business Record.

The sale officially closed on Friday, with the Ankeny-based Elwell Company paying $2.3 million for the property. It’s expected the transaction will be recorded with the county early this week.

While redevelopment plans aren’t finalized, Murray said, “We will not be a bar.”

“That’s not something that usually fits in our portfolio, so we will not be a bar,” he told the Business Record over the weekend.

What could it become?

Murray said it could be a restaurant or converted into office space for a professional user, such as an architecture firm, law firm or lending institution. 

“An office space that fits that corridor where someone is looking for high visibility and long-term tenancy,” he said.

The building has two rooftop patios, one on the second floor and one on the third floor.

If the building becomes office space for a professional user, Murray said that he’s looked at options to enclose the second floor patio as office space.

“That building has about 5,500 square feet enclosed and if you were to add that, you get another 400-500 square feet of office space,” he said. “I could see that second floor potentially being half-inch glass walls for example, so you had a lot of natural light on the floor.”

The third-floor patio would remain as outdoor space that could be used for employee amenities, Murray said.

But Elwell will also look for a restaurant to fill the building, he said.

“We would want to entertain a restaurateur or restaurant operation that had a history and was looking to set down long-term roots in Des Moines in that location,” Murray said. “I wouldn’t say it would have to be a professional user. It could be a restaurant. It will not be a bar.”

Murray said Elwell plans to hold on to the building for a long time and make it part of the company’s portfolio.

The sale closes a period where Community First Credit Union of Ottumwa, which held the loan on the building, had sought offers for the building after it acquired it in October at a sheriff’s auction for just under $3.47 million. 

The nightclub closed in August 2023 after its owner, Edwin Allen, was sued by the city of Des Moines. The city claimed the business was a public nuisance after a string of violence on the property, including several shootings, one of them fatal. Civil cases filed by the city against Allen and the business were later dismissed, online court records show.

Brokerage firm Cushman & Wakefield represented the credit union in the sale.

The building was constructed in 2021 and includes two stories plus a rooftop patio. It has minimal parking and adjacent on-street parking.

The building also qualified for a declining commercial tax abatement schedule, and six years remain on that abatement.

In previous reporting Carrie Kruse, economic development administrator for the city of Des Moines, said there was no development agreement in place for the property and no specific use requirements for the site were in place other than it comply with the current MX2 zoning district, which allows for a variety of uses.

Murray said Elwell was drawn to the building because of its location and the new development coming on that side of downtown Des Moines.

“We know the corner, we know the impactfulness of the Ingersoll-Martin Luther King corridor there, coming to and from the airport and coming in and out of downtown Des Moines,” he said. “It’s really an iconic-type location.”

Murray cited other development that is planned as being a factor in the company’s decision to acquire the former Zora building.

“Des Moines has been very thoughtful in their design of that Ingersoll corridor, and then specifically heading into that Western Gateway area of downtown Des Moines,” he said. “MidAmerican Energy is taking office space down there and investing in and rebuilding some of that old Meredith space. The city’s commitment to maintaining that area for so long and redeveloping it and with the prominence of just an iconic neighborhood … that’s what drove us.”

“We see it as an opportunity to have a blank canvas there and do something new.”